Merry Christmas!

Hey everyone,

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year! I wanted to let you all know that I appreciate your support so much, and it's been an honor to have you as my support team for this semester of the internship. This Saturday I leave for Urbana, but I'll be back on the 1st and will be sure to let you know all about what happens. In the meantime, please continue to pray for the event, especially that all the students would get there safely and that they would be touched by the messages from the speakers. Again, thank you for your prayer and financial support, and I'll see you next year!

His servant,
Michael

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel'—which means, 'God with us.'"
- Matthew 1:22-23

Christmas Joy

It's finals week at UNM, and so InterVarsity is officially coming to a close for the semester. I've really enjoyed it; all of the new experiences of the internship have been wonderful, and I already can hardly wait till next semester when we start back up again. For the time being, though, it'll be nice to have a bit of a break, some time with family, and of course the Christmas season.

That's not to mention Urbana, which I'll be attending as a part of the internship. It's a huge Christian missions conference organized by InterVarsity and is going to be attended by over 18,000 students from around the nation for 5 days in St. Louis. It has some great speakers, music, seminars, and Bible study, and I've been looking forward to it ever since I went last in '06. (It only happens once every 3 years.) I'm going to help with the morning manuscript times, where over 200 students will come together to study different passages from John 1-4. I'll actually be helping Hans as his A/V tech, and we'll also be helped by his wife Jill and the previous IV president at UNM, Glory. In the afternoons I'll help with the seminars, so I'll be sitting in on some great presentations on all things missions-related. Plus, as an added bonus, there will be a mini reunion of the Kenya GP team, which will be really great. Needless to say, it'll be a great week. Please do pray, though, for the conference - for travel, safety, open hearts, and powerful movement of the Holy Spirit during that time. This will be a transformational time for many students, and they could use all your prayers for their time at Urbana. I ask that you pray also for me, that I would be able to do all I need to help these students grow close to God during their time there.

As IV has come to a close for the semester, it's been a time of mixed emotions. For some reason I've been feeling a mix of joy and melancholy. It really came into focus last Thursday with our last Large Group, which was a testimony night. We had two of the students who came to Christ come and speak about their conversions, which was really great. Then we opened up the floor to anyone else who wanted to share about what God has been doing in their lives. It was so great to hear those stories of God at work, and many of the students who spoke talked about how meaningful IV has been in their lives and exhortations to the others to not let the opportunities IV presents pass them by. We're saying goodbye to some of those students as they graduate this semester, and so those final messages were especially poignant, at least for me.

Yet as I went back home that night, as I thought about the friends we'll be missing at IV next semester, I couldn't help but think about what goodbyes mean to Christians. For us, there is no final goodbye. I know that this kind of thinking usually come around experiences of great loss - the loss of a family member or the final goodbye to a childhood friend - but it still holds true for these smaller farewells. I thought about the people that stepped up and talked about the work of God in their lives, and I thought these are the people I'll spend an eternity with. What a great priviledge! As Christmas approaches, I hope that you will see past the distractions of the season and remember the One Who made such hope possible for us. He is our joy.

"For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."
- Luke 2:30-32

Just a little further...

So I know that I promised that I would tell you how last week's Kenya-themed night went, and let me say, it was awesome! We had a bunch of people dressed Kenyan-style with either fancy skirts or slacks. We started by giving everyone Kenyan Christian greetings as they entered ("Bwana asifiwe!" usually followed by surprised and awkward looks from the students). Then we moved into some Kenyan worship, involving a mix of English and Swahili songs plus dancing. Heydon, the Large Group coordinator, then called up a couple students for spontaneous messages, which of course they didn't know about beforehand. The two ended up being Jenn our chapter President and Josh, one of the Small Group Coordinators, and they actually did really well! Following the messages, we showed the Kenya GP promo video (which, by the way, you can find here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As0SEYDJAx4) to let people know a bit about the project, then Hans and I each took a few minutes to talk about our assignments and the project in general plus show off some pictures. We ended with some Q&A time and then, after much hand shaking and more "Bwana asifiwes", treated everyone to some Kenyan chai and biscuits. I had a great time, and I know a lot of other people really enjoyed the night. I don't really know if we've convinced anyone to try out the project for this coming summer, but I'm really hoping that we've at least piqued some interest.

Besides that, most of the stuff going on is starting to wind down. This is the last week of classes at UNM before finals start, and so it's also the last week that IV will pretty much be doing anything. Last small group meetings, last prayer times, final Large Group.... We're doing less planning for our current events and starting to look to the next semester. We have pretty much everything major fleshed out for the first few weeks of next semester, and I'm really pleased with a lot of the stuff we have planned.

The only thing that isn't really set in stone yet for me is my small group. Javier hasn't really been able to put forth the commitment he needs to for co-leading with me, and I'm not really sure that he'll be willing or able to change much for the coming semester. I/we also need to figure out if the group will continue to go through the Truth Project, which everyone seems to be enjoying so far, or if we'll change gears and start going through the book of James to include more Bible study, which the leaders are trying to promote more. Either way, I'm sure it'll all turn out well in the end. Please just be praying for us to make the right choices so that we can be in God's will.

We also have a few end-of-semester events coming up which should be pretty great. This Friday we're going to have our annual Christmas part, complete with potluck and white elephant gift exchange. It'll be a great time for everyone to relax and enjoy some time together before finals and the break. Then for the first two days of finals we're going to be giving away free coffee, hot cocoa, and tea in the morning to students to help make finals a little more bearable. It's not an evangelistic event or anything; it's just a way for us to serve the students and show them a little of God's love.

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day."
- Psalms 46:4-5

Changing Gears

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving this past weekend. Mine was good. Not great, but still good. We went down to Silver City to see my Grandfather. It's generally the only time each year that I get to see him, and this year it was the first time in a while that the whole family had been together since my brother started going to NMSU down in Las Cruces. My Grandfather is certainly starting to show his age (and not really making much attempt to take care of himself), so he spent most of our time there asleep, but we were still able to interact with him a little and serve him by helping around his house doing yard work. It certainly wasn't as lively a Thanksgiving as we've had in years past, but it was still good, and I'm glad to have been able to go down there to see him. I would appreciate if you would pray for my Grandfather and my whole family as we'll likely need to make some decisions soon about how best to care for him.

These past few weeks have been a little strange due to both the Thanksgiving break and the short trip to the University of Arizona I took two weeks ago. No Large Groups, no Small Group, no meetings... it almost feels like I haven't been around IV people for like a month. I did really enjoy my trip to U of A. I was just there for a night to see how they run the Large Group at their chapter as part of a report I am supposed to write on best practices for Large Groups. I've never really interacted much with their chapter, though we do meet once a year for our regional end of the year retreat up in Colorado. It was a quick trip; landed at 5:30, dinner with their Large Group Coordinator at 5:45 to chat about what they do, Large Group from 6:30 to about 10:00, then sleep at the house of some guys in the chapter until 5:15 when I needed to get to my flight. My plane got back into Abq. at 8:15 the next morning - just enough time for me to have some breakfast and get to my other job. Whew! I was really glad to be there, though. They're really trying to be an outreach-based chapter, and it's definitely working for them. Everyone I interacted with told me about the 6 conversions they've had so far this year, and there was just an atmosphere of excitement about all that the chapter was doing. We're not quite there at UNM yet, but I think I got some good ideas from the U of A crowd, and I look forward to seeing how we can use some of them ourselves.

Speaking of looking ahead, we're now at the part of the semester where we need to start reflecting on how we've been doing as a chapter and start planning for next semester. This has meant a lot of reflection at our last few meetings and trying to make an honest assessment of things like worship, Small Groups, Large Group, etc. What have we been focusing on? What did or didn't work? How do the students need to grow? What do we feel like God is calling us into for the next year? I actually really enjoy this kind of planning and all of the energy that is generated as we come up with ideas of how we could do things even better next year.

One possible change that would really affect me would be the possibility of restructuring the Truth Project Small Group that I've been leading. I've really enjoyed leading the group, but my co-leader is... unreliable. He's generally missed about half of our planning times, leaders meetings, and even the actual Small Group, often without any forewarning unless I specifically call him up. It's not the best situation, and so I need to see what his desires are for this coming year and if he wants to stick it out with the group. The other side of the coin is that Rod, my internship "overseer", feels that I should try to do a manuscript Bible study instead. Manuscripting is kind of an IV trademark: an inductive Bible study that allows people to really analyze the text without much presupposition. I always like the method when I do it, and I think it could be really good, but I don't want to leave the Truth Project hanging mid-way through, especially since I feel so many people in the chapter need a strong grounding in what the Christian worldview is, which is the main focus of the Truth Project. I would really appreciate your prayers as I try to seek guidance in what I need to do for the next semester.

My Dad has started the next round of his chemo therapy, and thankfully he still seems really healthy. He hasn't even started loosing his hair yet, though apparently my Mom's Bible Study has started a pool on when that will happen. This is only the second round, and they will continue in 3-week intervals until about mid-February, so there is certainly still time for him to start sporting a wig, but for now he still retains a firm grip on his healthy head of hair. Thank you all so much for praying for him during this time, and please continue to remember him as we continue through this ordeal.

I get another chance to talk about Kenya tomorrow, this time at the Large Group. So excited! We're totally going over the top with a Kenya-style night, complete with chai and vigorous hand shaking. I'm really looking forward to it, and I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes next week. In the meantime, please pray that it'll go well and that maybe we can inspire some of the students to try to get on a missions trip themselves this summer.

"For in him we live and move and have our being."
- Acts 17:28a

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving! You have all been a great blessing for me, and I am so thankful that you have been a part of what God has been doing in my life this semester through InterVarsity. I hope that you all have a wonderful time with your friends and family and that you are constantly reminded of the blessings God has bestowed upon you as well.

God bless,
Michael

Technotopia

Not much has happened since my last update, so I thought I would post something a little different this week. I hope you enjoy reading it!

In the past few weeks, I have accrued a great deal of new technology in my life. It started with an invitation to be a part of Google Wave. Google is attempting to use Wave as a new way of communicating online, combining the concepts of email, instant messaging, blogging, online collaboration, and a variety of other internet technologies into a single tool. It promises (at least, Google wants to promise) that it'll be the next great thing in using the internet since it'll let people collaborate simultaneously. Interesting.

Later that same week, I got a new cell phone. My old one was pretty much dead; wouldn't always answer calls, had problems with the screen, and would occasionally decided to reboot and not get any signal. I went with my family to the Verizon store to see what they had available as a replacement (I was due for an upgrade), and was a little blown away with some of the options. Only one of the phones didn't have a camera on it. Many of them, including the extravagant new Droid phone, had touch screens. I had to actually search for one that didn't charge extra for having a full keyboard. I ended up with probably the least sophisticated one there, a simple flip phone. It had the camera, but no other frills.

Finally, as of last week, I am the proud new owner of an HP tablet PC. Tablet PCs have full touch screens, and this one allows for both finger (touch-based) and pen input on its screen. I can literally draw or write directly on the screen using either my fingers or the included tablet pen. It comes with Windows 7, which runs excellently so far and provides special features like gestures so that with a flick I can copy or paste items, scroll around the screen, or manipulate pictures. It's a really slick bit of hardware, and I'm still excited to see what it'll be able to do.

All of this new technology really made me think about the way that we as a culture think about innovation. I couldn't help, as I looked forward to experiencing these new acquisitions, that through them my life would become in some way better. I wouldn't be stuck any longer with a phone that turns itself off, with juggling 4 or 5 different types of online communication, with a slow and unreliable laptop. I would be more productive, quicker, less stressed, maybe even more satisfied with life. Technology was all I needed for my life to be better!

It sounds a little ridiculous when I put it like that, but I think in a lot of ways that is what our society has turned to. Science and technology are our saviors, and the future is where all of our dreams will finally be fulfilled. Because in the future, everything will be faster. Our green technology will help us cleanse the earth of any malady. Diseases will be cured. Everyone will have what they need as we get better at producing it, so there will be no more squabbling over resources. As Americans, we seem to be enabling ourselves to solve all of our problems, and there is no need for God to save us, because it seems like we'll make it alright without Him.

I really like my new tablet. My phone is great. Google Wave will be a fun experiment. But I'm far happier to know God - that He loves me and wants to care for me, that He has forgiven me and not just skirted around the issue of what's wrong in the world, and that even if I lose everything else, He'll still be there for me in the end. As we prepare for this coming Thanksgiving and for the Christmas season as well, I hope you all can be thankful for the way God has blessed you materially. But I hope that you will be filled with an even greater joy of God's love for you.

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
- Matthew 6:31-34

Back to Breathing

Well, my crazy week has finally ended. Though the last few weeks have been full of activity leading up to this one, all of the frantic activity is behind me, and I can start to get back to what might even be called a normal life. Not that I didn't have a good time; all of the hard work really paid off in the end, and I'm so glad to have had these opportunities the past few weeks.

In case I've lost you, I'm talking about the close-packed series of IV events I was helping out with this week. The first of these was the evangelism table we did in the UNM Student Union Building. We decided to try a slightly unorthodox form of evangelism. For a few hours each day, we had a display board set up with the prompt "What do you hate about Christianity?" with space for students to come by and add their responses. Honestly, I was a little worried going in that the event would result in a lot of heated arguments, but by God's grace we were able avoid anything like that, though there was a lot of discussion on some controversial topics. We had great, honest responses from Christians and non-Christians alike, including frustration with hypocrisy, anger toward the hateful attitude Christians often have for people "under sin", and heartfelt requests that Christians return to the heat of the Gospel:the love God shows to sinners in spite of their sin. We then would interact with the students, asking them follow-up questions like what their religions background was and what experiences they have had with Christians to lead to their responses. Some really great conversations came out of these interactions, and though none of the students we talked to expressed an interest in becoming a follow of Christ, I'm sure that God softened some heats though what we did those two days.

Another major event this week was my talk at the IV Large Group this week. I spoke on John 9, where Jesus heals a man born blind, and tried to emphasize the way Jesus provided not only physical sight but spiritual sight as well. It was designed as an evangelistic talk - kind of a follow-up to the table - but unfortunately, even though we passed out more than 70 fliers at the table (wow!), no new students showed up except for one guy who knew one of the girls from the worship team. It was a little discouraging giver all of the students who seemed interested in showing up. I'm also not sure how well the talk itself went. I spent a fair amount of time preparing for it, but all the same it felt really unpolished, and think I could have done a much better job with it. I've never really felt like a fantastic orator, though I can get by when needed, and I think the talk solidified for me the notion that speaking from the Word is something God will need to continue to help me with. All the same, I'm glad I was able to have the opportunity even if my expectations happened to be a little different from God's.

Finally, on Friday we had the IV guys' and girls' nights out. I can't really speak for the girls, but the guys' night was awesome. We decided to go all-out with masculine activities, so we had a meat-only BBQ, fought with form swords (drawing only a little blood), and watched Braveheart. We then finished the night by watching Lady in the Water and having a serious discussion on how we find our identity though Christ. Oh, and the whole night we were all shirtless and were "tribal paint".

My Dad's chemo therapy continues to go well; thank you so much for the prayer support! He's had almost no adverse reaction to the medicine, has been staying active, and still even has all his hair.God has been so faithful to us during this trying time. The next round of chemo won't bee for a while still, but I'll be sure to keep you updated as things progress. Have a blessed week, and l'll have my next update this Wednesday as usual.

"Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever."
- Psalm 23

Hiatus

Hey everyone, I just wanted to say that this week's update will be postponed till this weekend, probably Saturday. There's been a lot going on, and I'd love to tell you all about it, but I'm a little busy still to really tell you what's been happening. I would also like to be able to tell "the rest of the story" of what happens after the talk I'm going to give at the Large Group next week; I'm really excited to see what God has in store! Thank you for your prayers for this week, and please keep praying that God would be at work through what IV is doing at UNM. Talk to you all later!

"In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."
John 1:4-5

Revving Up

And now the semester starts to get really busy. I had thought that graduating from Tech would mean that I wouldn't have an end-of-semester rush to get everything done, but apparently I was mistaken. Once again November is proving to be the busiest month of the term, and while the pressure isn't nearly as high as at Tech, there is certainly a lot going on.

The majority of the work is actually in preparation for next week. As I mentioned last week, I'm going to design and run an evangelistic event next Tuesday and Wednesday, then I'm giving the message at the Large Group that Thursday. Having done neither of those things before, it's been an interesting experience trying to get them together. Everything is starting to fall into place, thankfully. For the event, we're putting on a table with the prompt "What I hate about Christianity..." and allowing students to write their responses on the board. We'll then ask them questions like what their personal religious background is, what experience they've had with Christians, and how they think God reacts to Christianity as a religion. Our hope is that we can then tell them more about who God is, not how he is sometimes portrayed through Christians. The talk, meanwhile, will be on John 9, when Jesus heals a man born blind. It speaks a lot about how Jesus has come to bring light to us all, and my hope is that some non-Christians will want to come after meeting us at the table and have Jesus heal their spiritual blindness that night. Please pray for both of those events. It certainly won't be by my efforts that either of these things will be successful. I really hope that we can reach out to some non-Christians and invite them to join us in following Christ, so please pray for open hearts and minds and that we would encounter the right students.

Another source of busyness coming down the turnpike is some upcoming visits to other chapters that I'll be making. So far I'll be going to the New Mexico Tech chapter (tonight, actually) and the University of Arizona in a couple weeks. I might also visit one or two more. The idea is that I would be able to get a better understanding of how other chapters run their Large Groups, then compare them to determine some best practices to help UNM make their Large Groups better. I'm really excited to do this, especially to be back at the Tech chapter since I haven't been able to see those guys all semester. Keep those trips in your prayers as well, please.

I've really been blown away by the way that God has been moving people to generosity lately. Last week we had an AIDS awareness night for Large Group, which involved telling students about the severity of the AIDS epidemic worldwide. We took up an offering for World Vision, which helps fight AIDS in different needy areas, and we managed to raise about $340! We also had our work day for Urbana scholarships last Saturday, and though the final total isn't in yet, we know that we managed to make over $4,000 to share between us and Tech! That totally blows our previous record of $1,800 out of the water, and it's really a testament to the way that God provides event in this bad economic climate. He is a God of provision!

It's less than a week until my Dad starts his chemotherapy treatment. We aren't really sure to expect, so please keep him in your prayers as well. My family is in good spirits about it, and we know that we rest in God's care. Thank you once again for your support during this time. Have a blessed week!

"When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?"
- Psalm 8:3-4

The Swing of Things

Well, with the Great Escape over, it's back to life as usual. Or something. It's interesting, because in talking with the other area staff, usually the time after Great Escape or any other major retreat represents a slow-down from the previous weeks. That's not the case with me. In part this is because I had less to do for the retreat than others, i.e. I didn't have to be the main speaker like Hans, so there wasn't so much work to get a break from. But on the other hand, the way that the internship and just life in general has lined up makes these next few weeks probably the busiest of this semester for me.

One of the jobs that has recently been added is the discipleship group I'm leading with a few of the UNM guys. I currently have a group of 3, and we started meeting last week. We've decided to go through an IV Press book called "Hearing God" by Dallas Willard. It explores the ways that we try to discern God's will for our lives and how being in God's will is an essential part of the Christian walk, whether we are following a path God has revealed to us or taking a step of faith that what we are doing is what He desires for us. I'm excited to go through it and to be able to lead these guys into a stronger relationship with God. It feels a little weird to be in a place of leadership where I am so used to just being a participant, but that is pretty much par for the course as far as the internship goes, and I'm happy to be doing it. Please keep the group in your prayers, though, so that I may lead these guys into a better relationship with one another and with God through the discipleship group.

My small group this week was... interesting. For various reasons, my co-leader Javier wasn't able to show up (one being that his grandmother is in the hospital with only a day or two to live - please pray for him and his family during this time), plus some of the other attenders weren't able to come. We had one new girl come though, Hannah. I felt kind of bad because I ended up waiting a long time for people to show up for the meeting since they hadn't told me they wouldn't be able to make it, and then we even stopped the meeting for a little while to wait for another guy who wanted to come but was going to be late. It certainly wasn't the best small group I've ever been a part of, but I suppose overall it went alright. I just hope things will be a little smoother this coming week.

I also had quite a surprise last week. My roommate Heydon, who is also the Large Group Coordinator for the chapter, got really sick last week. He's better now, but at the time it meant that he couldn't lead the Large Group. He called me a couple of hours ahead of time to ask if I could replace him, so I ran home, got some instructions for the night, and headed out to try to get the night rolling. We had another of our meetings on the Salvation to the Ends of the Earth series, this time on the coming of the suffering servant from Isaiah. Since the lesson was already prepared, I didn't have to worry too much about it, which was nice. It was a bit of an adventure, but it all turned out alright in the end. I'm just glad that we were able to help out Heydon while he was under the weather.

Another fun adventure this week was the IV Masquerade party on Saturday. I'm not one for dancing usually, but I decided to take a chance and show up, and I actually had a really great time. There is something distinctly different about dancing with just a group of friends versus the awkwardness I was always used to at school dances back in high school. We all had a great time letting loose and dancing around, doing everything from swing to line dancing to pop and lock randomness. Good times, even if it was a little outside my normal comfort zone. I'm really glad I was able to go!

There is a lot to come now, though. For one, I get to lead my church's college Sunday School this week. I'm talking about my time in Kenya as the beginning of a unit on missions for this month, so at some point I'll need to prepare for that. I'm also preparing to give a talk at the Large Group in a couple weeks. Not just any talk, though. No, this is part of an evangelistic unit for the internship, so I'm actually going to create some kind of an evangelistic event (probably some kind of interactive table or other approachable space) which will happen within the next couple of weeks. Then I will have my talk at the following Large Group, hopefully inviting some students that we meet at the event into a relationship with Christ. It's a lot of stuff, but I'm excited to see how God will use these opportunities. Please keep them in your prayers, that I would be able to effectively share what God has done for me and help give others the desire to follow Him as well.

An update on my Dad: he's started some medication that is supposed to help his immune system target the cancerous cells to fight them. He'll also be starting chemo therapy in a couple of weeks, so please pray for his health during that time and that God will help heal him. Thank you all so much for your continuing prayers!

"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah"
- Psalm 46:1-3

InterVarsity Fall Ministry Update

Well guys, here's my rundown of the semester so far. Many of you will probably be getting this as an email, but I know that some people who read this blog aren't on my support email list (let me know if you would like to be), and I didn't want you to be left out! A lot of this stuff you can get from reading my previous posts, but there is also stuff on the Great Escape conference from this past weekend as well as some updated prayer requests. In any case, here's the update:



Greetings my wonderful support team!

Wow, the semester is half over! So much has been happening these past few months, it seems like the start of the school year (and my internship) was ages ago. I certainly don't have the space here to go into much detail on all that has happened, but I wanted to give you all an idea of how God has been at work at UNM so far this semester.

We begin each semester with a short time of New Student Outreach (NSO), and this semester saw some good success. We had several events throughout the first couple weeks of school including numerous informational tables around campus, a movie discussion night, and an ice cream social/snowball fight (that's right - a snowball fight in August!). We had an evangelistic table event for two days as well - an interactive and visually appealing tool called a proxe station. Our proxe station was called the Thirsty Proxe, and through it we were able to interact with dozens of students, asking them how they fill thirsts in their lives and using that as a way to share the Gospel with some of them. Though we did not see any conversions from the Proxe directly, we had many great conversations. We met many students through these NSO events, and several of them are now really beginning to get involved in the chapter. It's so great to see God raising up new leaders!

We also decided to make a bit of a leap of faith with our first Large Group session of the year during the first week. Traditionally our first Large Group is a time to get to know new faces and just hang out after a summer apart, but we wanted to hit the ground running this year. We had the Area Director, Rod Pauls, speak on the woman at the well to go along with the themes from the Thirsty Proxe. He ended with an alter call, and 3 students made decisions to follow Christ! Praise the Lord!

Our other Large Group events have been very successful as well. We've seen around 40-45 students attending regularly - about 10 higher than last year. We are also going through a curriculum started at the New Mexico Tech chapter a couple years ago called "Salvation to the Ends of the Earth". It's from a book that goes through the entire Bible, looking at it through the lens of missions and the way God uses things like the Abrahamic covenant or the Diaspora to share His good news with the nations. We have also had several special events including a testimony night, a speaker talking about the place of cynicism in faith, and a night of prayer. Combined with some great worship, the Large Groups have been a great experience so far this year.

I'm also really excited about our small group Bible studies and our prayer groups this semester. There are currently 4 different small groups and 2 prayer groups. I'm actually leading one of each. My small group is going through The Truth Project: a series developed by Focus on the Family for presenting the Biblical Christian Worldview. It's a wonderful series and really challenges students to reflect on what they think the Bible has to say on things like ethics, theology, reality, man, and many other topics. After a few rough weeks, there are a handful of students coming to both groups, and they really seem to be growing from them. I am also just about to start a discipleship group with a few guys from the chapter, and we'll be going through a book called "Hearing God" that talks about how we can discern God's will in our lives. It's a great opportunity to develop some real Christian leadership in these guys, and I'm very excited to see how God uses the group.

The other big event of this semester was the Great Escape, a weekend retreat for the chapters in our region (UNM, NMT, and UTEP). We went to a camp called Sivells Retreat, which is secluded in the mountains outside of Cloudcroft. Altogether, we had around 60 students attend, 23 of which came from UNM. The other UNM staff worker, Hans Schenk, was the main speaker for the weekend. He gave a challenging message for the students from the raising of Lazarus, encouraging students to recognize the abundant love of God in their lives and to wait on His timing for answers to the crises that we undergo. My tasks for the retreat included developing the quiet time materials, providing prayer for students during the response time, and giving an overview of my time in Kenya this summer to encourage students to participate in a mission trip this summer. It was a great privilege to be able to help with the weekend, and overall the entire event was a great time of fellowship, learning, relaxation, and fun.

Lastly, I would like to let you know about some of my current prayer needs.

* I have pledges for about 90% of my support needed for the internship, meaning that I still need to raise about $1,300. Thank you all for the various ways that you have supported this ministry, and please pray that I will be able to find the rest of my support in the next few months.
* Please also pray that the small groups, prayer groups, and discipleship groups will be successful in the coming months and that they will be a place for God to help students to grow closer to Him and to one another.
* We have about 16 students signed up for the Urbana missions conference coming up this December, which is really great. The conference costs about $700 altogether, though, and many of these students are stepping out in faith that God will provide money for them to go. Please pray that He will give them the money needed in the coming months.
* As many of you know, my father was diagnosed with lymphoma this year: a cancer of the white blood cells. We recently found out that he will be starting chemotherapy in early November, and he has already started some medications to combat the disease. He's strong, and the cancer is not that serious compared to some cases, but he could definitely use prayer for healing and for wisdom for the doctors in the coming months. Please also pray for his strength as he starts the chemotherapy and for comfort for my whole family as we trust God during this trial.

Thank you all once again for your continued prayer and support. I cannot express the gratitude I have for you all and your partnership in sharing God with the UNM campus. God bless you all!

In His strength,
Michael

Into The Woods

Wow, the semester is already almost half over! That means it's time for the annual InterVarsity Great Escape - a weekend in the mountains outside of Cloudcroft at the Sivells Baptist Retreat Center. It's a weekend to get away from it all and enjoy a time of fellowship, Bible study, and fun. I always love going, and this year I get to be part of making it happen as a part of the staff team. My part is pretty minor (I wrote the quiet time materials and will lead one of the discussion groups), but it's been really cool to see the retreat coming together and to get a sneak peek to some of the stuff that'll be going on. Unfortunately, and contrary to our expectations, this looks like it'll be a low-attendance year, but regardless I'm sure it'll be a great time. Please keep the weekend in your prayers that the students may get the most out of it.

This past week was pretty great. We had a special Large Group, which we dubbed "Lost", with the idea that like the show Lost we would raise a lot of questions, but unlike the show we would actually answer them. What this meant was that the students set up a table to allow people to drop in questions related to Christianity. Then at the Large Group we had a panel of students plus Hans to answer them. They did a really great job, even on difficult and disputable subjects like the origin of evil and the nature of the Trinity.

I also had a good small group this time. There were 5 of us total, and one of the guys who showed up is actually a Mormon. It seems like he's really interested in going through the Truth Project with us, and hopefully it'll be a chance for him - and the others involved - to take a hard look at what the Bible says and begin to change their own beliefs to match it. Please pray for them all to have an open heart to the subjects we'll be going over and for me and my co-leader Javier as we facilitate the study.

The Great Escape coincides this year with the UNM Fall Break, meaning that there are no classes this Thursday and Friday. While that doesn't mean too much to me directly, it does mean that IV isn't having many of it's regular events like Large Group, which in turn means that I'm getting a nice break myself. It gives me a chance to think, to reflect, to pray. I am beginning to see a lot of how the semester has shaped up so far and where it is going. I would have to say that if I could name one thing God has been working on in me, it would be prayer. I have really seen Him answer prayer in my life. Not just a simple yes or no, though that has happened, but realizing how prayer draws me close to Him. I pray, and He listens, and that has been more evident to me now than ever before. From developing new relationships to raising my support to my Dad's struggle with cancer, God has been there for me the whole way. What a great thing!

We actually know a bit more now about my Dad's situation. He got results back from a CT scan, and it looks like several of the lymph nodes in his stomach are somewhat swollen, meaning that they will be starting chemo therapy sooner than they anticipated. We don't yet know what that means since the doctors need to run more tests to determine a method of treatment, but we are trying to prepare for the changes it will have on his life and on our. Again, please continue to pray for us regarding this situation, and remember that we worship a God of healing.

Oh, and thanks to those of you who tuned in to hear me Tuesday morning on the radio. It went pretty well, especially since my director Rod was there to answer some stuff that I didn't know the answers to.
Have a blessed week!

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
- Ephesians 3:17b-19

Reboot

I apologize; it's been a little longer between posts than I would have liked.

I'm not quite in the same confused state as in my last update. Life is back to a little more normal pace, and I feel much less overwhelmed than last week. Not that I exactly have less on my plate than I did before, but a little sleep and a lot of prayer can go a long way. God has definitely met me where I am, and that makes a world of difference.

I finally got a real start to the small group I'm co-leading. We did the first half of the first lesson of the Truth Project, which went over the importance of an understanding truth. We actually moved the time for the study from Mondays to Thursdays, in part because I brought the wrong disc on Monday (whoops...) but also in hopes that more people will be available then. We'll see, but please do pray for students to be able to make the new time since this is a series I think a lot of them will benefit from greatly.

There are also a lot of things coming up for you to keep in prayer as well. For one, we have our regional fall conference - the Great Escape - coming up in just 2 weeks. I'm really excited for it, especially since I've gotten a bit of an inside scoop on the plans for the week. It's a great time for students to get away and get refreshed through some great Bible teaching, games, outdoor activities, worship, and all-around fellowship. We're hoping to get 80 students total from our region there, so please pray that we can make that goal.

Another activity coming up for me will be setting up a discipleship group with at least two other guys from the UNM fellowship. This is a part of my internship program, but I would also like to inspire the students a bit more to be involved in leadership and missions. I pray that I can find a couple guys to do this with, but also that I can effectively set up a program to achieve these goals and help the students to really grow in their walks.

One exciting opportunity coming up this week will be a radio interview I'm giving this Tuesday morning. It's on AM730 KDAZ, and my bit will start at about 8:10 and go for around 20 minutes. I'll be talking about InterVarsity, my work at UNM, that kind of stuff. If you happen to be around a radio then, tune in to hear me make some radio history. Or something.

Finally, I'd just like to ask for some general prayer right now. The storm of life has abated for the moment, but there are some minor turmoils that I continue dealing with. Nothing too serious at the moment, but a little extra prayer is always a good thing. Thanks so much!

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight."
- Proverbs 3:5-6

Even More Kenya Pics!

So this set of pictures goes through the last few weeks of the Kenya GP this summer. It's not very complete, in part because a lot of the stuff we did (slum visits, working at the orphanage, etc.) precluded us from taking any pictures. In any case, these cover the 3 weeks following our return from our ministry assignments and then our week in Mombasa for our debrief. Hope you all enjoy them!

Torque

Well, this has certainly been a wild past few weeks. In case you don't know, torque is the force used to twist things or spin them around, and that's about where my life seems to be right now - spinning me around in its ups and downs till I'm pretty much exhausted.

I wrote a week and a half ago about how happy I was with God, life, and the universe in general. I think that was the night before I found out about my Dad's cancer. And since then it seems like I've been running from one thing to another, some great and some not as great, until now I just need to rest.

Last Monday I had my first small group for the Truth Project. A little on the low side (3 other people), but not bad for a first week. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get really anyone to come to this week which would have been our first actual session, so we had to postpone, which was kind of a bummer. On getting back afterward, though, I found out that there area actually several people who wanted to come who will probably make it next week. Again, up and then down and now up again. I started a prayer meeting on Tuesday as well, but no one showed up. Down again.

Large Group that Thursday was pretty good; we had a great speaker from a church in Edgewood, Brian Hackett, and a great number of people - really exciting! As I found out later, though, many of them were only there because they know the speaker, and they don't even attend UNM. Sigh. Plus I've started to notice just how many new people we have who are sticking around, which is great, but also the people who have shown up to one or two things and now aren't around any more. It's a normal thing for any chapter, but it's always sad to lose people, especially if they seemed like they wanted to be involved and really be a part of the group.

There have been other things going on, but I won't get into them. I'll just let you know about yesterday (Tuesday), which kind of was the culmination of a two weeks of spinning my life around. I got a flat, which meant arriving 45 minutes late to a big meeting for some potential supporters (Christian business people), plus finding a time to replace it. I had a doctor's appointment later (no signs of Malaria!), the prayer meeting I was supposed to lead on the other end of town an hour later, a meeting with my IV Area Director after that, and then another potential donor meeting, with dinner somewhere in there. I ended up missing the prayer meeting so I could get the tire fixed, which meant spending about $440 to replace all four since the flat was the result of age and wear, not just a puncture. Quite a day.

God is good, though. Despite all the ups and downs, I really feel like He's just stood beside me and helped me remember that there is a plan, even if I'm too caught up in the craziness of life to recognize it.

I'd like to thank you all for praying for my Dad and my family. We're all doing really well, and we have a little more information now on the cancer. It's called chronic lymphocytic leukemia and is one of the more common forms, but also one of the less dangerous ones thankfully. The doctors think that my Dad has a somewhat minor case, though they plan to treat it a little more seriously until they are sure. In any case, apparently they don't plan to cure it because, since it's a blood-based disease, there is a fair chance that it is originating in the bone marrow, meaning curing it would require a bone marrow transplant, which would be more risky than just living with the cancer and treating it. As it stands, my Dad probably won't start any kind of treatment for as long as a year, and afterward they will just treat it any time it seems to come back. It's not exactly a clean bill of health, but I'm very thankful that it's not something more serious. Thank you all again so much, and please continue to keep this in your prayers!

I'd also really appreciate if you would pray for the students coming to IV right now. This is a kind of crucial point in the year since it really shows who will and who won't remain a part of the chapter or become a major part of what we do on campus. We have a lot of big plans for the year, but we're going to need the support of the chapter if they are going to pan out. Speaking of which, please pray specifically for our Great Escape retreat in a couple weeks. It's our fall conference, and we really hope students will come and maybe even bring some non-believers since we are going to try to use the event in an evangelistic way.

And now I'm going to go to bed to put an end to this madness of my twisty-turny life.

"Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off."
- Proverbs 23:18

A Plea

I just found out this weekend that my Dad has lymphoma. That's a type of cancer, specifically of the immune system and affecting the lymph nodes. He had some swelling of his lymph nodes and went to the doctor, who performed a biopsy a week ago. Only the preliminary tests are in so far, but he does indeed test positive for lymphoma, though we won't know more information about it until further test results come in. I need you all to pray for him and his health.

He actually is dealing with it very well - probably better than most of us, which I can only attribute to his firm faith in God and His love, provision, and sovereign will. And that's the position I pray that we all will take as we face this challenge, especially when treatment, probably a mix of chemo and radiation, starts.

I know it's often common practice for us to pray for God's will in these situations, and that we will understand it regardless of the outcome, and I want to ask you to pray for those things. But honestly, I want more than that. When the sick, the invalid, the dying, and the possessed were brought to Jesus, people didn't ask Him to just let them have peace about whatever outcome God willed for them, leaving with a handful of reassurance and a parcel of hope that maybe one day things would be better. They came to Him and asked to be healed, and so they were healed. They trusted in the character of God: that He is a God Who desires good for His creation and desires to heal. I want my Dad to be healed, and I trust that God will do so if we ask it of Him. And so I'm asking that you pray not just that we would be comforted during this time, that the treatments would go well, that we would understand God's will, or even that my Dad will get better under the care of the doctors, but that God would heal him and remove the cancer that is in his body. He is more than sufficient for such a request.

Thank you all so much for your support and your prayers. I'm sure that God will not hear them in vain. May He bless you all as He continues to bless us.

"This is what the LORD says:
'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on the earth,
for in these I delight,'
declares the LORD."
- Jeremiah 9:23-24

Wind in my Sails

Life is good right now. I'm not entirely sure why, but it just seems like everything is working in my favor, and I continue to see how God is blessing me. My life is falling nicely into place, and I'm so glad to be able to praise God continuously for his many blessings.

For one, we finally have internet at my new house (which by the way is officially dubbed "The Asylum") which means that I can now stop worrying about how to stay up to date with the world around me. There are still a few things that need to come together before our whole system here is set up, but for now having a wireless connection set up here is a great blessing.

I've also been amazed at how things with IV have been going. We started the first Large Group with about 40 people. Then last week it jumped to 46 people. That's a crazy thing to have happen; usually the first week is by far the largest, and in later weeks there is a drop in attendance as people's schedules fill up or they move on to other things. I have never seen a Large Group get bigger than the first night. We just had our meeting this week, and I was a little discouraged because as it started we had the first few rows mostly empty. Unbeknown to me, people trickled in during the meeting, and when I looked back at the end of the night, there was a whole group of people standing in the back because they didn't have chairs to sit in. We had 54 people total. WOW! Not only is this the biggest group that UNM has seen since I've known it, it's the biggest well into the semester! God is doing cool things, and it's amazing to see Him continue to draw people in, certainly not just because of what we're doing.

And to top it all off, our landlord decided to buy us a brand new (and very nice) propane grill as a housewarming gift. Seriously, it's just like God to do some great stuff all around me and then to have something like this as icing on the cake.

All of this has really made me be thankful for the fact that we serve a God of provision. It's been coming up again and again, whether it is the Large Groups, the internet, my fundraising, or even just a kind word at a right moment. And I believe that it is also thanks to you and your prayers that these things have been happening. It's honestly hard for me sometimes to see the usefulness of prayer since there isn't a direct cause-effect relationship all the time, but I'm sure that without the prayer that you all and others have been giving toward the work of IV and just for me as well, these things would not have happened.

And so I am so grateful to you all as well for that, and hope that you will continue to remember me in your prayers throughout this year. I hope that sharing this with you will remind you that prayer is effective and essential to our success. I hope that you also will be reminded of who God is: that He is lavish in his love and takes joy in filling our cups to overflowing. Praise God!

"The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but victory rests with the LORD."
- Proverbs 21:31

Ministry Assignment Pics

Here is the second set of pictures from my summer mission trip to Kenya (finally). Sorry this has taken so long, but I still don't have internet at my new place, so getting anything uploaded is a little tedious. Anyway, these take place over the three weeks that I was in the Musul/Kimanju/Ewaso area living and working with Pastor Samuel and his family. More pictures from the last few weeks of the trip hopefully to come soon.

Approaching a Sense of Normal

Well, my life is finally starting to take some kind of a regular shape as different events begin to fall into place. This coming week will be the beginning of our Small Groups and GIGs (Groups Investigating God - essentially Bible study for interested non-Christians) as well as the prayer group. I'll be co-leading a Small Group going over the Truth Project, which is a series released by Focus on the Family to help teach the Christian worldview. I've been through the series before, and I'm really excited to be able to share it with others. Also, if all goes well, I'll be leading a GIG as well, getting together with a couple non-Christians weekly for about 4 weeks to look at the Bible and discuss what it says on various issues like how we can know God.

This past week has had some firsts as well, including my first time doing contact evangelism. Yes, I could say that I did essentially contact evangelism on numerous occasions while in Kenya this summer, but doing it in an American context is very different; I can't simply go up to people and ask them if they are Christians or if they would like to have a relationship with God. Instead, I went with my area director, Rod, and we would approach people to ask them if they would like to share their views with us, only sharing our side if they wanted to hear it. In any case, it was a good experience, and hopefully some fruit will come of it. Please keep the two people we shared with at length in your prayers.

We also started our regular Large Group sessions this week. We'll be studying God's missional heart by going through the book Salvation to the Ends of the Earth. It describes how the entire Bible displays God's desire for missions, and so every other week we're going to look at a different section and talk about what it means for missions. This last week was on the nation of Israel as a missional people versus a priestly people, and it was a cool way to look at them. We also had more people this week than the first week - something I've never seen happen before! Usually the numbers dwindle after the first week or two once people get more settled into their schedules or decide that they don't feel like they fit with IV, but I've never seen numbers increase, and it's definitely a testament to God's desire for us this semester and not a reflection of our own efforts. Praise God for his provision, and please pray that this pattern of growth will continue and that the new students we continue to meet will keep getting involved, as many of them already are.

I'm still trying to work on my fundraising. It's been really hard to find the time to call people and set up appointments, but I'm about 80% complete now. Please pray that I could finish the raising my support by the end of the month.

"How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands."
- Psalm 119:9-10

Out of Breath

The semester has definitely started! The past couple of weeks have included my first on-campus events as an InterVarsity intern, and we really hit the ground running. So far I've done 5 days of tabling (sitting at a table handing out info about IV), 2 days of evangelism, a game night, an ice cream social/snowball fight (yes, a snowball fight in the middle of August in New Mexico - good times), the first Large Group meeting of the year, and an early breakfast this morning at Denney's. Oh, and of course there were other events like glow-in-the-dark frisbee that I couldn't make it to; I'm only human! Needless to say, I've been a little busy lately....

Man has it been wonderful, though. We've been able to meet a lot of new students who want to get involved in IV and engaged even more. For the evangelism days, we ran an interactive display known as a proxe station, theming ours around the physical and spiritual thirsts people have and using those discussions as a jump-off point for sharing the Gospel with students. A lot of people stopped by, shared their views, and were even willing to listen to what we had to offer as Christians. We didn't see any conversions these two days, but we did have a few students interested in getting involved in learning more about the Bible with us!

We used the first Large Group meeting of the semester as a kind of follow-up event for the proxe station, and we tried something new this year. Usually, the first night is a fun time for people to hang out after a summer apart and to get to welcome new students with fun events, but we decided that we wanted to have an evangelistic focus right from the start, so we had our area director Rod Pauls come and give a message ending in a Gospel presentation. Honestly, I'm always a little skeptical when it comes to the effectiveness of alter calls after sermons, partially since I've seen many alter calls do little but suck the energy out of a room. No one is going to stand up, but we're all going to sit awkwardly waiting for something to happen. My trepidation was unwarranted, however, and we actually had 3 students that wanted to make professions of faith, praise the LORD! Not even a week into school, and we're already seeing conversions - I can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store!

Besides that, my life has mainly consisted of trying to finish really moving into my new place. It's mostly odds and ends right now like getting a toaster, some knives, and the cables for my TV. Unfortunately, we don't have our internet configured yet, so I always need to go somewhere else to do anything online. That's part of the reason that I haven't updated as much as I wanted to, and also why I haven't been able to get more pictures up. It's nearly impossible apparently to find a computer with both internet access and a reader for my memory card with all the images. Oh well. In any case, I'll try to get more of them up as soon as I can, and hopefully I'll be able to post more regularly soon as well.

Please continue to pray for my fundraising to go well. I'm a little under 70% funded right now, and more support is slowly coming in, thank God! Also, praise that the IV stuff so far has been going well, and that we've been able to see students come to Christ already. Please pray for the students, though, that they would be able to get hooked into some good churches. Please also pray for the events we have coming up this next week: a movie night/discussion tonight, a water balloon fight tomorrow, two more days of tabling, the next Large Group, and lots of meetings. Such is the life of an intern.

"Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
- Psalm 118: 19

Runners, on your mark...

Well, the IV Internship has now started! I'm really excited to finally be able to work with the UNM Chapter. They're a really great, fun group, and I already feel like I'm part of the family around them. It'll certainly be a great year.

We've had our first event of the semester for UNM this weekend: our pre-fall retreat to let students know what will be going on and to help train them to be ready for the things we'll be doing. The retreat went really well, with about 13 students in attendance for the weekend. We got to play games, let the students know more about our chapter vision for the semester, talk to them about some of the events we plan on doing, and give them training so that they would be ready to help us carry out the vision in the coming weeks. This included learn how to share the Gospel with others through a proxe station (an evangelistic tool used to engage students), lead a GIG (Group Investigating God: small group for non-Christians), and be a welcoming community for new people. I'm excited to see how the students jumped into these things, and it will be especially great to watch them go out on campus equipped to draw in non-believers and introduce them to the joy of the Gospel.

This week we'll be starting our first events at UNM to welcome new students, especially freshmen. This will include having tables set up to get the word out about IV, having games for people to come play like ultimate frisbee, and having a low-key game night to let us have some fun time to just hang out and get to know the new students. Please keep these events in prayer, especially that through them we will be able to make good relationships with those whom God is leading to be a part of our chapter. Also, classes start the following week, and we'll have even more New Student Outreach (NSO) events to introduce ourselves to others, even some evangelistic events to start reaching out to non-Christians from the very beginning of the semester.

In other news, I recently acquired a house to stay in, praise the Lord! It's an amazing deal - really a gift from God. My friend Chris, who used to be my housemate at Tech a couple years ago, was able to find a really great place about 15-20 minutes' walk from campus for an amazing price. The two of us and my friend Heydon, another former Techie now on the UNM IV leadership team, are going to be moving in this week, and I'm "highly enthused" about the whole affair. God provides in big ways!

I hope to let you know more as we actually begin having some of our events this week, so stay tuned to stay up-to-date with all of the latest news from the frontlines.

Oh, and I intend on posting more of the pictures from Kenya this week, depending on when I get some free time. It takes a really long time to get that all together, so it's going to be a slower process than I had originally hoped. Don't forget that I'll be having my open house this Saturday, and please let me know if you plan on coming.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. "
- Hebrews 12:1-3

Orientation Week Pics

So here is the first set of pics including our arrival and orientation week. They're posted to photobucket, so if you would like, you can click on the pictures to get to the actual album and see them with better quality. I'll try to get other albums up as I have time, but it's a bit of work, so it may take a while. In the meantime, enjoy!

The Rundown

Well, here it is (finally) - my summary of the mission this summer that I promised two weeks ago or so now.... Yeah, getting back into life has been a little busy, so I apologize for taking so long to write this. In any case, here is the letter I wrote to thank my support team. Some of you will probably be getting this in the mail as well, but to save some postage, I'm posting here as well so that all of you who read the blog will be able to get the same overall message. So, without further ado, here's the over-advertised letter!

My dear friends and family,

What a summer it’s been! My time in Kenya through the InterVarsity Global Project was absolutely transformational. I learned so much about how living richly does not mean having lots of things, but having God. I feel like I went to Kenya trying to do what God wants me to do, but I came back trying to be who God wants me to be, soft clay in His hands to be molded as He sees fit.

I also experienced ministry in ways I have not before. The central feature of the mission trip was a 3-week assignment in which a Kenyan student named Ezekiel and I stayed with a Kenyan missionary, Pastor Samuel Ndung’u, ministering to the Maasai people. The Maasai are pastoralists, meaning that they depend on their flocks for a living – a difficult thing since the area is suffering from a prolonged drought. With the Pastor, Ezekiel and I participated in home-to-home evangelism (Kenyans love visitors!), preaching sermons, witnessing in primary schools, and leading some seminars on Gospel basics like missions or tithing. We were privileged to see people come to Christ, to develop close relationships with people in the church, and to share in the lives of the people we ministered to. One time we were almost chased by a wild elephant.

And that’s just the assignment; there was so much more that God used to change me this summer! How can I explain what it’s like to walk through a slum in Nairobi: 600,000 souls packed into only a few square miles? Or how can I describe playing with orphaned and abandoned children, some with scars from the barbarous ways their parents attempted to discard them? Witnessing Hindus bow in reverence to false idols? Seeing tourists waste money extravagantly while only a block away others are dying of hunger? Oh, the things we all saw! But we came as lights into dark places, bearing the image of Christ, acting as His hands and feet, His eyes and ears in those places. What a blessing!

I wish I could share more with you. I have chronicled many of my experiences on my blog, which you can view at http://orisonsandaccolades.blogspot.com. I would also like to invite you to an open house at my parents’ house at 11320 Paseo del Oso NE, Albuquerque, NM where I will share more stories and pictures from the summer. It will be on August 22^nd starting at 7:00 PM with some Kenyan chai. Please let me know if you would like to come. My cell number is (505) 328-3481. I have also included a CD with some pictures from my summer to let you see some of my experiences firsthand [Actually, I will have a link up soon so that you can view my photobucket album]. I hope you enjoy them.

None of this would have been possible without your support. I thank you so very, very much for being a part of this project, for sending your prayers and finances to serve the Kenyan people. It has made such a difference, and I pray you will be blessed for your service!

His servant,
Michael Siegrist

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
- Ephesians 2:10

Drifting In & Out

So I and my stuff all managed to get back home safely. Praise the Lord! I was even welcomed by a lovely group including my family and some of my good high school/church friends, which was really nice.

Right off the bat, it was a good experience coming home. Thankfully my family and friends understood that I would want (and even need) to tell them a lot about the summer, and more than just the "How was your summer? Did you see any animals?" kind of talking. As such, I was privileged to be able to talk to them for a few hours over dinner that night. Really wonderful!

Although it's been a good week, though, I really feel like I haven't had the time I need to really process what's happened or to try to integrate my experience with my life back at home. I've been so busy trying to catch up, trying to hang out with friends that will soon be going back to school, trying to prepare for the IV internship, that I haven't really had the luxury of time to think. As a result, I think that some things I'm just accepting out of habit, and other things I'm getting a little frustrated with out of hand. Nothing big, but it's weird to see people leave water running or have lights on in an empty room. Food is thrown away. People have short conversations that seem to avoid most of the substantial questions. It can be hard at times to not be a little jarred by the sudden differences again, but then I notice myself doing the same things as well. As we always said during the project, though, "It's not right or wrong, it's just different."

Next week I will be in Colorado for a staff retreat for InterVarsity, marking one of the first things I do as an IV intern! I get to go up with Hans Schenk and his family, who were all with me in Kenya, so this will be a really good time. (Hans is also the staff worker at UNM, so we'll be coworkers as well, yay!) It's crazy that this has all come up so quickly. Thankfully, I'm already just over 50% funding, which is the goal for allowing me to actually start my work on campus. However, in the coming weeks, I will need to raise the remaining 50%, about $7000. It's a hefty amount, but I trust that God wants me on campus at UNM, so He'll be providing that money somehow.

I know that I promised a kind of summer summary post, and that will be forthcoming. In fact, I'll try to get it out before I leave on Sunday. As of right now, I am posting my pictures on Facebook, but I don't have a way for all of you to see them readily. I'll try to post a few here, but there are far too many to put them all up in blog posts. I'll see what I can do, though.

Please continue to pray for the whole team as we deal with reentry into American culture and try to relate our experience this summer to those around us. I also need prayer as I prepare to start my internship in a few weeks, especially that I would have the necessary prayer and financial support. Also, please pray for the retreat next week. I'm hoping that it will be an opportunity for me to reflect a bit and also to prepare for the work ahead. Finally, thank God that I have such great support here at home, that everyone on the team was able to get back home safely, and that I have the pledges I need to at least start working at UNM.

"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
- Philippians 1:4-6

Orientation Week Photos

The conference room of Watakatifu Wote Senta, where we stayed for orientation.

The team ready for a session.

Hanging out in the dining area one night.

Hans and his son Liam travel the road from the center to nearby Ngong town.

Ngong town, complete with a donkey searching for some food.

Finale

Kwaherini. Goodbye, everyone.

Wow, the final day. I've been in Kenya for almost 7 weeks now, and in just hours I'll be on a plane heading back to America. We've spent much of the last few days in reflection over the summer, reminiscing about the work we've done, the lessons we've learned, the things we've seen.... God has really been at work this summer!

The other important thing that we've been doing is preparing ourselves to share our stories with our families, friends, and churches as we return. I definitely want to let you all know firsthand what's been going on this summer! These blog posts really provide almost no idea of all that's been happening.

Preparing to return also means preparing to leave, though, and we are heavy-hearted as we realize that we won't see one another for a very long time. Yet, we are so thankful that God has gifted us with the opportunity to come to Kenya and to be transformed by our time here! What a blessing.

Finally, I would like to let you all know that I plan on sending out one last entry about Kenya once I get back. I'm going to be sending a letter to all my donors as kind of a summary of my time here in case some haven't been able to keep up with the blog, but you'll be able to read it here as well. This won't be the end of my blog, though. I plan on continuing to post here during my time on staff with InterVarsity at UNM as well, so please keep reading to know more about that work as well! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support while I've been on this project. I pray God will bless you all for supporting the work of His kingdom.

Please pray:

• For all of us as we prepare for our returns home. It will be especially important that we will be able to integrate our experiences here well with our normal lives and also that we will be effective in sharing with others.
• That our return flights will be safe and that all baggage and people will arrive at their respective locations.
• That I will be able to finish my fundraising for the IV internship well. Time to switch gears!

And praise:

• For the wonderful ways that we've seen God at work here both in us and through us.
• For the relationships developed while we've been here both with each other and with those we've ministered to.
• For all of you, my wonderful partners in this ministry, for answering God's call and providing me with the prayer and financial support I needed to be here. God bless you all!

See you in a few days!

"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but the LORD tests the heart."
- Proverbs 17:3

Culture Clash

Maji na bariki. The water is cold.

Well, this is it: the final week of the assignment. It's hard to believe, but in just a few days I'll be flying back to America and then home. This is a thing of mixed emotions for me and everyone else on the team. On the one hand, we'll finally be returning home, able to eat our own food, see our families and friends, sleep in our own beds, etc. But at the same time, we'll also be leaving life as we've known it for the whole summer. We've spent so much time together, shared so many wild and wonderful, life-changing experiences, come to see the world in a new way and be a part of what God is doing here, but we're leaving all that behind. It will be really hard.

To help us deal with all of these conflicting emotions we'll be experiencing, we've come to Mombasa, a coastal town off the Indian Ocean, to have some reentry training. Mombasa is very different from any of the other places we've visited in Kenya so far. In some areas, it looks almost like Beverly Hills in its extravagance. It is a tourist location, so there are people here from all over the world. It has a large Muslim influence. In many ways, it is more like America than any other place we've visited, and most of those ways are proving to be the hardest to deal with. For some people on the team, this reentry training and debriefing is proving to be the hardest part of the whole experience. It is hard to see water wasted when we've seen people who have to travel several kilometers to fill their small water jerkins. It is hard to see food in abundance when we've met children dying of malnutrition. It is hard to see houses with bedrooms larger than the entire homes of our pastors. It is a very different place, and it is the kind of culture that we'll be coming back home to.

Perhaps the most difficult part for me has been trying to understand the place of prosperity in my own life. Surely G0d promises us good things as a blessing, and it would be wrong of me to shy away from the blessings that He has placed in my own life, but how can I go back to having so much when I know that my resources can go to keeping people from starving to death or help build a church or keep kids off the streets? Where do I draw the line?

Another things that has been playing on the back of my mind is the realization that I will soon be leaving the people whom I've spent so much time around. Many of them I would now consider some of my best friends, but we'll be leaving one another and returning to different lives all with their own demands. I really hope that I can continue to have relationships with as many of them as possible, but God only knows who I'll ever see again or who I'll even be able to stay in contact with. It's a comfort to know that in the end, He knows best.

I'm glad I'll be home, though.

Please pray:

• For the team as we begin to deal with the problems of returning to American culture without either becoming frustrated with it or simply forgetting the lessons of Kenya.
• That we would enjoy our last few days together but will also be ready to return home.
• That the work we've done here will be permanent and not just temporary; that when we leave, our efforts will not have been in vain.

And praise:

• For the many wonderful lessons we've all learned here in Kenya.
• That the ministry continues even here - two of the hawkers on the beach decided to be born again!
• That my assignment area, Kimanju, has had two days of rain since I left, the most since March!
• That though we are leaving Kenya, God is not, and He'll continue to be with us as well.

"And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
- Romans 8:28

Idolatry in the Modern World

Baraka za Mungu. God's blessings.

The last few days here have been mostly focused on exploring the teachings of different religions from those who follow them. The idea is that by really understanding what they believe, as they describe it, we will be more prepared to effectively communicate/witness to them, and hopefully be able to have some really practical training to bring back to America. (only about 2 more weeks - wow!)

We attended a Hari Krishna temple and a Hindu temple. While many people think that these religions are closely related, they are not exactly. One major difference is that Hari Krishna believe in one god with millions of different demigods to serve him, and they hold that their view of god is one that represents the true beliefs of all religions, superceding them since they have the most "complete" view. The Hindus, on the other hand, are incredibly polytheistic; they believe in millions of gods each representing a different aspect of creation and who require devoted worship in the form of sacrifices and personal holiness.

Both temples, however, were incredibly beautiful, and it really struck me just how much these people were willing to give in service to their god/gods. While we've seen so much desperate poverty in many places we've been, there we saw extravagant wealth used in the praise of so many false gods. It was really disheartening, and difficult for many of us as we experienced firsthand the kind of worship that is so often deplored in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament.

Today we heard from some Muslims about their faith and went to an Islamic temple. It was a very interesting experience because, due to all of the animosity between many Muslims and Christians, the Muslims were very determined to let us know that they follow a peaceful faith and that exteremists are the exception (though it may also be a reflection of the particular sect we visited). I think we were much more comfortable overall with this experience because of the many similarities between some of the beliefs of Islam and Christianity, though there were also many glaring, irrecconcilable differences that we had to learn to discuss and learn about in love.

I am so glad that we've had such opportunities to learn more about these faiths and also to grow both in our own understanding of Christianity and in how to effectively dialog with people of other faiths. It is so easy to become confrontational as we are faced with the lies of other religions, especially in their misuse of the Bible in attempting to defend their faiths, but we are all stronger for it, and hearing straight from the sources has been a great priviledge.

The other major event of the week has been going back to the slum in Mathare Valley and helping with some work projects there. Among the activities were nursury care, a worship team, teaching children, making balloon animals, repainting the sanctuary of the church, giving free medical check-ups, and cleaning out about 200 meters of the sewage ditches that line the road. I helped with the children, which was good, though we had a little trouble getting them to pay attention for the message. Once they were released for free time, though, we were able to just hang out with them and play, and it was wonderful. I was throwing kids into the air and running around with them, having a really great time.

However, I saw that once I got tired, some of the kids would leave to go do other things, but some of them stuck around. They weren't just looking to get some kind of amusement park experience from me, but they really wanted to have a relationship. I think that sometimes that's how we as Christians, me especially, treat God sometimes. We have mountaintop experiences where it's so easy to feel close to God as He sweeps us away in His love, or even vally experiences where we cry out to Him and pray for strength or comfort or revelation, but it is the plains of life that are the problem. It is so easy to forget about God when we are just living life as normal, with no felt need to pray or praise Him. I didn't mention it earlier, but that was a bit of an issue for me on the ministry assignment; I would have down time, and rather than use it to pray or grow closer to God, I would just turn off for a while and let my mind wander. My prayer for you all is that you would stick close to God even when life is simply mundane, because He still has something to teach you then, and even more important, He still wants a relationship with you then.

Please pray:

• For the people all over the world following the faiths we learned about this week, especially in the ability of Christians to form good relationships with them and for God to reach out to them powerfully.
• That the work we've done in the Mathare slum will not simply be a one-day event, but have a real permanent change in that place.
• Again for the people of Musul/Kimanju/Ewaso, that they would be blessed by God and that His work would be done there.
  
• For those who have continued to get sick/stay sick. I think over half of the team has been sick at some point during this trip now, and even though I'm over the malaria I think, I now have a cold/cough.

And praise:

• That though many are sick, many are also getting better.
• For the work that people have been able to do on their ministry assignments (it's so great to hear the stories).
• That though we've seen a lot of darkness in the last week, we worship a God that is far greater than that and who we know will be able to shine light into even the greatest darkness.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it."
- John 1:5