Welcome!

So this is where I'll be posting updates and thoughts as I go through my second year as an intern here at SC. If you're on my support team, you'll still be getting my prayer letters which will be a digest of the major goings on, but this is where you can come to get more of my thoughts as I experience full-time ministry again.

To start off, here's a journal entry from 9/17, where I was reflecting on this year so far (parenthetical explanations added, clarifying footnotes at the end):

4 Weeks In...

Insane, isn't it? I blinked and now we're finishing up week four of the semester, and Fall Retreat is TOMORROW! But as much as this first month has flown by, it also makes sense that it's felt this fast considering how insanely busy a semester it's been.

Last fall, I was coaching Community Team, helping
Matt (Potter- now a senior on Shepherd team{1}, he was one of my pledges when I was pledgemaster of AGO back in Fall '06) and
Matt (Pfaff- now a senior, he's been on our Shepherd team since last fall and is currently pledging AGO, so his name{2} is "mowgli") with frosh guys' study, and discipling{3}
Nick (Rice- now a junior in AGO, also on Shepherd team) and
Eric (Dressler- now a junior in AGO, on lead team{4}). Oh! and helping plan
Fall Retreat with
Heather (Brainerd- one of my closest friends, I knew her from her freshman year and she is now raising support to intern with me) and
Laura (Reynolds- was on staff with us last year, has moved on to lead the team at Cal States Fullerton and Long Beach). This semester, I'm coaching Greek Life, leading soph guys study with mowgli, overseeing/coaching small groups as a whole, discipling Nick, Eric, Andrew, Trevor and Teddy, meeting with mowgli, planning Fall Retreat with Christina, and serving on the Winter Conference{5} planning committee!

I have indeed let it overwhelm me some, which is no good at all, but the truth is, I absolutely love it! (which IS great) See, I loved my job last year but there was so much that was undefined and difficult to figure out then. Now I feel like I've found my groove a lot more. And I love being busy. I'm just having to relearn finding rest int he LORD and letting Him carry my burdens.

But yeah, it's a blast. My meetings with my guys are going fantastically well. It seems like God is giving each of my d-ship (discipleship) relationships a purpose, and that makes it exciting. I LOVE IT! Each one is so different and yet God totally shows up.

I wanna talk about Greek Life, Small Groups, Fall Retreat, and Winter Conference too, but I gotta head out in a minute so for now, I'll just leave it with a shout out to my Abba, Father:

I LOVE YOU

Footnotes:
{1}- Shepherd team is a small group of students who are basically the leaders of our leaders. They meet with the staff every week to help set direction for Cru with us, and are almost a sort of "junior staff". This year, there are 7 Shepherd teamers- 4 guys and 3 girls, each of whom oversees a different part our movement.
{2}- In AGO, when you are going through pledgeship, you are given a name that you have to go by throughout the 9-week pledge process (except with professors and in legal documents). Mine was "spandexstrider".
{3}- Discipleship is basically the name we use for spiritual mentoring. We meet with younger students of our gender and guide them along in spiritual growth and train them in evangelism, discipleship, other forms of ministry, etc.
{4}- The lead team is a collection of students (juniors and seniors) who lead specifically areas of Cru. Bible study leaders, Community Team leaders, and Greek Life leaders are just some of the examples of lead team roles. They are led by Shepherd team members and staff.
{5}- Each region of Campus Crusade puts on a Winter Conference at the end of December. Ours is in the last four days of the year, leading into New Year's Day. This takes place in San Diego and we gather hundreds of students from Hawaii, California, Arizona, and Las Vegas (together they form the Pacific Southwest Region of CCC). This year, I have been asked to join a team of about 8 staff and interns who will plan and run Winter Conference! SO EXCITED!