Summary of Praises

Now that the busy holiday season is over and I'm home from my Thanksgiving, Christmas, RADIATE2010, and New Year's travels, I would love to fill you in on some of the great things the Lord has done.

* A small group of students made dinner with Bhutanese refugees on November 6. A great time was had by all, and our students experienced first-hand the difference between the American concept of time and that of Bhutan. Two Pitt students are looking forward to continuing and deepening the relationship with these refugees.

* On November 9, the Lord used me and Maria to encourage the women of North Way Christian Community (Oakland) to become witnesses for Christ by entering into people's lives wherever they are in their spiritual journey. We got to share our passion for evangelism and explain the concepts of Co-Journers. It was also really, really fun. I felt a morning talk show host.

* My talk at Cru also went really well on November 10. I spoke on grace as revealed in Ephesians 2:1-10. We looked at the contrast between what is true of us before we come to Christ and what God has done to bring us into a relationship with Himself. As I prepared the talk, I felt the Lord laying the question, "Why does grace matter?" on my heart. So I dug deep and realized I needed to share some of my own junk and be really vulnerable. Grace is freeing! No matter what you (or people in general) think of me, I know I'm far worse. My heart is sinful BUT God loves me more than I can ever know. Grace frees us from comparison and insecurity. It frees us to be ourselves - even the geeky parts. It frees us to be real about our junk, allowing us to bring our sin into the light where we experience forgiveness. It frees us from performance and perfectionisn. Grace also changes the way we see ourselves and others. Though I felt raw and exposed at the end of my talk, comments and thanks from several students after the meeting were so encouraging.

* Remember my friend Greg who deperately needed a heart? Well, on Thanksgiving he got a call saying they had a match for him! His transplant surgery went well, and he is currently recovering and gaining strength. Praise the Lord, our perfect Healer!

* Student leadership at the University of Pittsburgh transitions in December/January. The new leaders step in at the beginning of the spring semester when ministry is slower. Then they have a full semester under their belts before the crucial blitz period during the first six weeks of the next school year. We restructured and streamlined things a bit, and even so the transitions have all gone well. The student leaders are true servants and have stepped into gaps created by our lack of staff.

* Which leads me to the next praise. Jason and Maria Weimer and their 3-year old daughter Hannah moved to Melbourne, Australia on Christmas Day.  Their travels went well, and all three have adjusted well to life down under. Their absence has left a hole in my heart and social life, but my adjustment to being the only staff person on campus in Pittsburgh has been less overwhelming than expected. I definitely have my hands full with six launched campuses, an upcoming spring break trip to Australia, financial/operations responsibilities, coaching our stellar volunteers, leading a small group and helping with another, speaking at Cru, and entering into my own leadership training. Phew. I'm tired just thinking about it. But our God has big hands, and He can handle it all even when I can't.


* Our students are actively living their lives for Christ and are sharing the Gospel with their floormates, classmates, and friends. It's so incredibly encouraging to hear their stories.

* We had 35 Pittsburgh Metro students at RADIATE2010. Though I didn't get to go deep with all of them while there, it seems the Lord met with each of them in amazing ways. Stay tuned for the stories in my January prayer letter.