Every Ethne get-together!

Every Ethne staff are descending on Northwest Arkansas this afternoon!  They are coming in from Alabama, Iowa, and Oregon.  We’ll be spending time this week planning, strategizing, and of course having fun together.  The last time most of us were together was in California this past July, and since then several new staff members have been added.  So it will be exciting to be able to spend time together!

October Newsletter

October's sojourn

Birthday in an American Home

Since I haven’t posted in so long, I’m trying to get you all caught up on the things I’ve been up to lately.

On Thursday, Oct. 8, Ryan, one of my co-workers at the US Center, had a birthday party.  He and his wife invited all of our staff and many of the international students from the UofA to come.  There were a TON of people, and we had a lot of fun.  Click to see some photos from that night!

In other news, the first test run of the XPLORE study went to print today!  :) (yes, I’m pretty excited about that)

XPLORE and WI

I’m so sorry for neglecting this blog for so long.  I hope to do better in the upcoming weeks, but things have been a little crazy lately.  Mostly I’ve been waiting for time to do a proper update, but since that time doesn’t seem to be arriving, I figure a few short updates are better than nothing.

XPLORE study 2.0

After several months of reworking and redesigning, the updated XPLORE study is ready for print!  This has been my main project since moving to Arkansas, and it’s exciting to see it progressing this far.  I can’t wait until we get to start distributing copies of it and getting it out there as a tool to mobilize students to involvement in the Great Commission!  Stay tuned for information in the near future about how to get copies of this to use with student ministries you’re involved with, or to get to students you know!

Wisconsin

As I said in the previous post, my sister was in a car accident recently.  I drove to Wisconsin last weekend to be around for a little while and help out.  I’ll be here through this coming weekend, so if you’re in the area and want to see me, let me know.

Update

For those interested in keeping updated on my sister, my mom started a blog with info here:

http://thehollyreport.blogspot.com/

Please pray for my sister

Hey guys,

Please pray for my sister, Holly, in Wisconsin.  She was involved in a multiple-car accident this afternoon and is in the hospital. She has a broken left hand and elbow (and she’s left-handed), broken right knee and foot, a bump on the head, and cuts and bruises, but no internal injuries. Thank you, God that she was not more seriously injured! She may be released tomorrow depending on how she’s doing, and my parents plan to bring her to their house to begin her recovery.

Thanks for your prayers.

This is a video from the local news station.  Her car is the red Grand Am. Seeing that, it’s miraculous she’s not hurt worse.

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/crime/local_wluk_appleton_charges_pending_four_crash_driver_200909281537_rev1

Article from the local paper:

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20090927/APC0101/90927037/1979

Go1040

The Go1040 conference went well!  All together, we had around 200 people attend (around 150 students).  The first night we worshiped together, and then on the second day we heard speakers about the Biblical Basis of Missions, the history of students in missions, Business as Mission, and testimonies about people who have gotten involved in God’s global plan.  Students were challeneged and inspired, and given opportunities to plug in with different agencies and organizations.  Every Ethne will be doing follow-up with the attenders of this conference.  Please pray for us as we seek the Lord’s direction on the best way to go about these things.

Go1040 Conference

This weekend I’ll be helping out with the Go1040 Conference.  Please pray for this to raise up more laborers from northwest arkansas to go to the nations!  Check it out:

Labor Day weekend

Well, it’s pretty exciting living in Arkansas for several reasons.  One is that I now am within driving distance of my good friend Rachael, who lives in the Dallas area.  So, I decided to come down to visit for Labor Day weekend.  I visited Irving Bible Church again today and saw several friends and supporters there.  I’ll be heading back to Fayetteville tomorrow evening.

Next Friday and Saturday are the Go 1040 conference (check out the website for more info).  Every Ethne is helping out a little with the conference, and we’re focusing on follow-up with students afterwards.  So I’m sure that will be keeping us busy.  Please pray that God will use this opportunity to mobilize a lot of college students in the northwest Arkansas area to go to the 10/40 window.

I’m also hoping to get some good work done on the XPLORE study this week.  The ideal goal is to get it done by the end of the week… There’s still quite a bit to do, so I have a feeling that deadline may be stretching it a bit, but I would really like to get it as close as possible by the end of the week. 

So, what are you doing for Labor Day?

saturday

Today was a pretty low-key Saturday.  I touched base with a friend I haven’t seen since high school, which was pretty neat.  I didn’t realize there are actually several people from my home town of Chilton right here in northwest Arkansas.  It’s always amusing to me how there’s people I have some sort of connection to just about everywhere I go.

Tonight I went to coffee with a bunch of students from the UofA.  It was a lot of fun, and I am really enjoying making some friends and getting to know more people.

Tomorrow I’m going to church at New Heights.  I’m at least planning on being part of one of their Discovery classes next month, if not making this my “home base,” so to speak.  This class goes over the basics of the church, like who they are and what makes them tick.  I’m looking forward to learning about that and meeting some new people in the process.

Work on the XPLORE booklet is progressing.  We’re trying to get it done on a pretty tight deadline so we can have copies to start some studies this semester.  So we’ll see.  Please pray for me, that I’ll be able to focus and have some supernaturally infused creativity so that we can get this done and ready to be used as a tool to mobilize college students around the country.

I’m starting to feel a little more like I actually live here, which is pretty neat and kind of weird at the same time.  I haven’t lived in one place for longer than 2 months since May 2008.  So, this staying put thing is pretty new.  I’ve been in Fayetteville for a little bit over a month now.  I feel like I have a fairly good grip on the basics of where things are, and I’m starting to get a feel for what life is going to look like here.   I think the hardest thing for me is not really having a solid group of friends yet.  I know full well that community doesn’t happen overnight, and I’m fully aware it’s going to take some time and effort on my part to make that happen.  Please pray for me in this transition, that I’ll be able to proactive enough to find situations and meet the people that can be that tight community I need.   I know it will happen in due time, but pray for strength and patience for me until it does.

Have a blessed Sunday!