One Month Down and Going Strong!

It's been about a month since school at UH started and what a CRAZY and incredible month it's been!

Welcome Week was such a success and we met a great number of new people. We never really know beforehand just how these things will actually turn out. Will we buy tons of food and no one will show up? Or will we underestimate and end up with a mass crowd? Somehow, the LORD put everything in perfect balance and we had lots of people show up to all the events and just enough food to feed and satisfy all those "starving" college students. Here are some of the girls at our main event, the Luau. We had a blast!


Thursday nights are also really going so well. I think more people show up every week. Really, I'm pretty sure it's a different crowd every time, but Matt and I have made it a point to not count how many show up. I'm not really sure why not, but I think it's better for us to not put so much emphasis on numbers. Obviously, we want to grow numerically...UH is a gigantic campus. But we're way more concerned with real spiritual growth. So, we've made it our goal to make maturity and depth our focus.

We just had our first 2010-2011 Leadership Meeting and I cannot say just how proud we are of these incredible students who have stepped up and taken on this unique role of responsibility. We were able to encourage them and give them a chance to express concerns and struggles. It's really a tough thing to build a small group from scratch and to get commitment-phobic college students to be faithful, but they really have made some great connections and rising to the occasion. So proud of them!

Now, we are very much looking forward to our annual Breakaway Retreat in Huntsville. This is such an incredible time where even deeper connections are made and friendships are really fused together. Please be praying with us that students go and that lives are changed. We're expecting the LORD to really do a significant work in their lives. I promise, you will be hearing more about this.

Here are a few pictures from last year's Breakaway.

One Week and Counting...!!!

We are almost exactly ONE WEEK away from the first day of the 2010-2011 school year. I can't believe how fast the summer break has gone. Feels like it was not that long ago that we were wrapping up the last school year.

Life for us, here in Houston, is all a whirlwind with all the plans and details of our yearly Welcome Week events that begin that first day of school, Monday, the 23rd. We've made plans for just about every night of the first week of school (and then some) in order to more easily meet new friends on campus. We've got a game of Kickball planned for Monday night; on Wednesday, a giant, campus-wide Scavenger Hunt ending in free pizza (can't go wrong with free pizza and college students, right?); our very first UHXA worship service of the school year for Thursday night; and a fun Luau complete with roasting animal of some sort for Friday night.

In addition to all the event plans, we're also making sure to keep ourselves and our leadership team emerged in constant prayer. Because we know that even if we make the best of plans and attempt to see everything carried out to the letter, we still need the LORD, in His infinite wisdom and grace, to show up. We've been praying that HE would go before us and pave the way to the hearts of students all over the University of Houston. We know He loves them and longs to have relationship with them more than we ever could imagine.

We really are excited to share all the stories and pictures of this crazy and exciting time of the year. Please be in prayer with us, as I know you will be. The LORD is so faithful to give us such an outstanding team of supporters and pray-ers. We love you so much and are grateful to go fight this battle for you!

You Think Houston is Hot???

Summertime is such a sweet, yet very busy time for us and this summer has been absolutely no exception. From weddings, to family reunions, visiting with friends and traveling, we've been reminded over and over again how rich our life really is. I'd love to tell you all about it, but thankfully, I've already written a little bit about it all (including lots of pictures!) on my other blog. So, please go check it out!

I would, however, like to kinda highlight a few things from our trip to Phoenix, AZ. We were so excited to get to go out west (neither of us had ever been out that far) and spend a week with some of our dearest friends and XA family. This wasn't just a vacation and we knew that from the beginning.

All the directors and staff from all the Chi Alphas in the nation got together last week to celebrate what the LORD has been doing on each campus and to gear up for what is ahead. Not only did we get spoiled by getting to stay at this luxury resort (Arizona Grand Resort), but we also got to spend the week learning how to better reach the students on our campus.

Here are a few things we learned (or were reminded of):

1. The culture in America changes every time a new generation rises. Their questions about life/God/religion and the way in which they ask these questions are also changing.

2. Islam is really on the rise in America and on the American university campus. The best way to reach this group of people is to make one friend at a time...and to be committed to pray for them in love.

3. Our supporters (YOU!) want to hear stories about the people we deal with and want to know how to pray for them. (I also learned that if you choose to have a blog, it's important to update it frequently...I'm trying to get better at this.) :)

4. God's goodness is not contingent on our circumstances. Meaning, He stays the same and He's always good. Even though we may go through some tough times and experience some pretty crummy situations, doesn't mean that He's suddenly stopped being good to us. No, He loves us and if we let it, those crummy situations can be used to glorify Him.

5. True discipleship is like saying marriage vows to someone. "I choose to love you and walk beside you no matter what; for better or worse...til death do us part."

6. It takes a good 2+ days to drive from Houston to Phoenix. And it's not a boring drive at all. I took a big, fat book with me to read along the way, and didn't get very far because I kept getting distracted by God's creative handiwork. Here's a little of what we saw all along the way:

Texas Hill Country

Watch out for that killer cacti!

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
(driving through El Paso right along the border)

I can't remember if this was taken in New Mexico or Arizona.
Either way, we were constantly in awe of the majesty of these mountains.
Can you tell we're from East Texas and have had very little experience with mountains?

We had such a significant time and were really reminded why we do what we do. And we've only been back for less than a week, but the LORD has already made it very clear to us in the last few days (stayed tuned for these awesome stories!) that we are His ambassadors to a very lost and hurting world...right here in Houston, TX.

Making Good on My Previously-Made Promise

Did you think I forgot? Okay, I kinda might have forgotten. But only for a few days. ;)

We have been having a BLAST so far this summer "break" with all the craziness that's going on around here. To start off, we've been meeting with our leadership team every Monday going through our Leadership Training Course. We have 5 new student leaders to add to our returning 4 leaders and LTC gets them each ready to lead a small group throughout the new school year. We discuss all different types of topics related to discipleship and it really has been such a joy to watch these students as they continue to develop a real burden for their friends on the UH campus. Matt and I keep finding ourselves being humbled by their hunger for the LORD and their excitement about reaching the campus of University of Houston. I simply can't wait to share with you all the cool stories that come from watching this group in action.

the 5 newest leaders

(Matthew, Chris, Sam, Daniel and Nicole)

the entire leadership team 2010-2011

In other news:
Something else we're in the midst of realizing about life in college ministry is that the wedding craze never really ends. Here we are, all grown up with most of our friends already married off and entering into the wonderful world of babies. But somehow, we've managed to keep ourselves in the wedding side of life.

All jokes aside, this is one of the most beautiful and exciting things to be apart of when it comes to campus ministry (but not as beautiful and exciting as salvation). We get to see some of these students come out of unhealthy relationships that they don't even realize are unhealthy and enter into ones that are glorifying the LORD and useful to the Kingdom. The LORD really does redeem our bad mistakes and creates new life when we surrender our live to HIM. And then of course, there are also couples where they always have walked with the LORD and those are also exciting to watch as HE continues the story of beauty in their lives.

We got the incredible privilege in the beginning of June to be apart of our VERY FIRST EVER University of Houston Chi Alpha wedding! We met Kristin and Adam at the beginning of the school year. They had already been dating for several years, but were not living for the LORD. They both gave their lives to JESUS and have continued to grow in love with Him and each other ever since. He proposed right after the new year and they got married a few weeks ago. We are so happy for their new life together and all the beauty that will come from it.

Here are a few pictures from the blessed event:

the happy couple

i got to be the Matron of Honor and give a toast. awkward. but sweet.

a Chi Alpha group picture

the next happy couple to get married in October, Dean and Nicole

just wanted to throw in a picture of another VERY happy couple :)

A Post With No Picture

SO many wonderful things are going on right now that I just haven't had the chance to update. And I could probably sit here and tell ya all about it, but I have this silly thing about posting without pictures. I just don't like to do it. Especially, when what I'm writing about actually has a picture or two to go with it. But we're here at Matt's parent's house for the weekend and I don't have any of my pictures.

So, you'll have to wait. Sorry.

But just rest in this: AMAZING things are happening around us here in Houston. And the LORD is continuing to show HIS faithfulness and pour out HIS beauty in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

Just stay tuned for all the stories...and the pictures. ;)

Oh, By the Way...

I believe I have a confession to make to all you loyal readers of this humble blog. For a couple months now, I have been keeping another blog on the side. *GASP*

Now, I realize I may need to explain myself and I intend to do so. You see, I used to write a lot all throughout my school days. While some may grimace at the idea of writing papers and essays, I actually really enjoy it. And I had been feeling a lot lately that I had really lost the skills involved in writing. No, I'm not particularly great at it. And I do make many grammatical and punctuational errors fairly frequently. But there's something about getting my thoughts about various topics down into written form. I also rather enjoy being able to go back to what I wrote about months/ years ago and see the changes that have happened, either progress in writing or just entertainment at visiting different memories.

So why keep TWO blogs and not just mold them into one? Honestly, I'm not too sure. The only reason I can come up with is that some of you are really only interested in our ministry here at UH. And don't get me wrong...I don't for one minute think that absolutely nobody is ever interested in our personal lives. But I'm also not so foolish enough to believe that everyone wants to hear about all that. And I don't at all believe that our lives in ministry are separate from our personal lives. Because I believe that our normal, everyday lives are just that...ministry. I guess it's just easier to be relaxed and maybe even a little goofy on the personal blog. Does that make sense?

Anyway, if you are indeed at all interested in my blabberings and random thoughts and stories, then by all means...please give my other blog a little visit. I'll be more than happy to host you over there on occasion. And between the 2 blogs, you just might be able to know a little bit about what goes on in our lives. And feel free to leave a little comment or such, just to let me know that you stopped by. :) Happy Blogging!

A Few Highlights

WOW! I really can't believe that it's already the end of the school year! I feel like we were JUST planning out welcome week or the first week in August and now we're planning out an end-of-the-year pool party. I feel so behind in updating here. The truth is that (as silly as it sounds) I lost our camera for a good chunk of the semester and what good is a blog post without pictures to go with it? ;)

So many really incredible things have happened throughout the year. There are several hearts and lives that will never be the same; the LORD has been so faithful to be with us every step of the way.

Here are a few of my favorite highlights from the semester:

1. In the beginning of March, I took most of the girls out to a friend's lakehouse for a weekend retreat. We had so, so, so much fun and were really challenged by our 2 sweet interns who've been coming down every week from SHSU Chi Alpha. Hannah and Kimberly are such incredibly wise and beautiful women who have given all of themselves to this precious group of girls. They are each a strand of thread forever woven into the tapestry of this ministry here at UH. I could not be more thankful for them. I did, thankfully, have my camera for this wonderful time together.

2. We took the first ever Communion at UHXA the Thursday evening before Easter. It was such a sweet time with our students. Eric, one of the student leaders, preached about the Cross and about what it truly means to honor the significance of it in our daily lives. He did such a an amazing job! And afterward, we participated in Communion together.

3. We have had the privilege to see the fruit of some of the seeds that were sewn back in the fall. We fought hard through the long, cold winter where everything seemed to be frozen over and, in some, maybe even dead. But with the warmth of the spring sun and the melting of the ice came the warmth of the grace of GOD to melt the hearts of our friends. And sure enough, up comes little shoots of green...signs of life!

4. This last Monday was the final evening of the school year for the Girls' Small Group. We had such a sweet time together, even though we were all emotional about it being the last time we would all be together in one place. Nicole (the other leader) and I had the house candle-lit with sweet worship music playing when they got here. She read the passage of Scripture where JESUS washes the feet of the disciples and then we washed their feet one-by-one and prayed over them. Afterwards, we all went out to dinner, all dressed up. I still can't believe all the different beautiful women the LORD has brought into my life just in the last year. I so enjoy looking back at who they each were when I first met them and then thinking about what their lives look like now. Transformation is such a beautiful thing.

I'm sure some pretty amazing things also happened with the guys, but they don't really tell me anything and I can't get Matt to post on here for anything. Ha! We sure do enjoy what we do and are just in awe of what the LORD has done in such a short time. We eagerly look ahead to what's brewing for the summer and are in anticipation for what's coming next fall. Keep your eye out for more awesome stories...there's always something going on here.

Pancake Dinner Outreach 2010

I slightly alluded to our Pancake Dinner Outreach via photo in the previous post. It was such a FUN and successful night. We've been talking a lot in small groups and on Thursday nights lately about being outward-minded and about sharing their faith and the gospel with those around them. Because we really believe that there should always be a practical application to everything we talk about, we try to have occasional opportunities for the students to invite some of their friends and classmates to events.

This is how we came up with Pancake Dinner Outreach 2010. We're still (and probably will always be) in the stage of "trial and error." We just kinda brainstorm and come up with ideas. Then we try them out. Sometimes they totally flop. This one was seemingly pretty successful.

We just made up a bunch of fliers for the students to pass out in classes, dorms, etc. the week before. Then we made TONS of pancakes (super cheap!) and coffee and had lots of games going. There was a pretty good turn-out and we even met several new faces. Maybe we'll do it again next year?

Here are some photos from our fun night:

Pancakes taste better when made by these 3 beauties.

Liz making sure her pancakes are perfect...they were. :)

Mmmm...pancakes.

A Quick (and long over-due) Update

My, my, my! It sure has been quite some time since I last posted. I've started about four or five different new posts for this thing in the last couple months, but it seems that the task just proves to be too overwhelming. With so much constantly going on in our super busy lives, there just seems to always be something new to post about.

So here is my post just to check in to the blogging world. We are alive. We are somewhat well and healthy (besides the typical colds and allergies, etc.). We are overwhelmed by the grace of GOD in our personal lives as well as in our ministry. Too many AMAZING things are going on here at the University of Houston in Chi Alpha. We have been finding ourselves saying a lot lately, "WHAT is the LORD doing???" And of course, it's always said in a good way. Growth, as far as in numbers, is exploding! The new semester has brought on many, many new faces...mostly girls...THANK THE LORD!!!! :)

Growth, as far as spiritual maturity, is also exploding! We've been praying quite a bit lately that the LORD would supernaturally speed up the maturing process in the lives of the students we already know. It truly is not a cliche thing when I say, we have been, and are continuing to be, utterly, completely BLESSED!!!

I shall leave you with a few pictures:

the (huge) crowd of college students who gathered together for worship at the annual Salt Conference at the beginning of the year

a few beautiful women I am super privileged to love
Kristin, Liz and Nicole

showing my competitive (yet, fun-loving) side in a game of spoons at our Outreach Pancake Dinner last weekend...we had such a great turn-out and met several new people!