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