Move In Week and the First Day of Class

Hello friends!  Today is the first day of classes for the University of California, San Diego.  This means that the past week has been crazy as we have begun to lay the ground work for the year of ministry on campus.  We have been moving freshmen and sophomore students into the dorms, meeting with the students already in the ministry, and planning the ministry schedule for the Fall Quarter. 

We hit the ground running last Saturday the 20th of September.  This was the move-in day for all freshmen students at UCSD.  Move-in day is an extremely crucial time for our ministry as it is a time to meet brand new students who will most likely be here for the next four years who are seeking community on campus.  This is a perfect opportunity to provide many of the needs for these students.  Moving in students helps to serve them as they arrive at school, be the first bright and smiling face they meet, and to provides the chance to meet the students families.  During move-in we meet new students and get their information, as well as meet their suite mates and roommates. 

We made it to campus around 10:00 in the morning and spent the whole day moving in many new students.  One of the things I have specifically been praying is that God would allow Tim, the campus ministry director, and I to meet and gain favor with 5 key guys who are leaders amongst their network of friends.  This way we will be able to not only reach that student, but also be able to begin friendships with their friends as well.  During our six to eight hours of moving people in on Saturday, we were able to meet many students who seem to be very excited about having a friendship.  Some have even said they want to get involved with our group on campus.  And this was the first day, five days before school even starts!  God has really opened up some great relationships and opportunities.

We are really focusing a lot of time with one of the six colleges at UCSD.  The campus is pretty large so it helps to focus our efforts.  One of the biggest areas we are focusing time is the ERC college.  One really neat thing about ERC is all of the dorms are named after the different continents.  So when we are going and meeting with students, we are literally going to the nations!  I thought that was pretty cool. :)

After Saturday we felt extremely encouraged with the contacts we had made and students we were able to serve by helping to move them in.  We had a few students from our ministry helping out as well, so we had a group of six or seven people helping students move-in.  It has been really exciting seeing some of the older students who Tim and others have invested in, step up and lead on campus. 

On Monday we went on campus and met up with a lot of the students we moved in.  It was a good time to make our faces familiar amongst a lot of the freshmen and tell them about some sports we were going to play the next day, Tuesday.  We set Tuesday as a day to play sports with students and create a more natural environment and friendships.  On Tuesday Tim and I, along with a lot of the ministry students, met up with a lot of freshmen guys at 9:00 AM to play football, ultimate Frisbee, and basketball.  The group really seemed to gel and click with the freshmen. One of the freshmen students that I was able to really get some good time to talk with said, "I really want to hang out with you guys a lot.  All these guys seem like really good guys and you all have fun.  Let me know anytime you guys are doing anything!"  God is really blessing our efforts on campus.  I am so excited to share more stories of what the Lord does in this young guys life and the lives of other students.

Finally, on Wednesday Tim and I met with the core group of students from the ministry.  There are about 8-10 students who have been involved with the Navs on campus over the past few years.  These are the students who we will partner with when it comes to leading Bible studies and planning our events.  It has been fun getting to know some of them over the last few days and look forward to spending more time with them this year.  They are a good group of students who have really stepped up early this year to meet new students on campus.  It is amazing what God does with our willing hearts.  While meeting with the core group, we planned out the event schedule, who will lead what weeks for Nav Nights, and prayed for the ministry, the campus, friends who don't know Jesus, and the incoming freshmen.  It was a very encouraging and fun time.

As God brings our ministry at UCSD to mind, here are a few things I am praying for and invite you to pray with me. 

Please Pray:

• For Tim and I, as we work closely together (Tim and I have had a great time on campus together so far!)
• Praise God for a great beginning to the year with meeting new students
• For deeper relationships with returning students
• A smooth transition figuring out where I fit amongst the group of staff and students
• A great first Nav Night coming up on Wednesday, October 1st. Please pray we would have a good turn out of new freshmen students.
• For the freshmen we have met over this past week, as they begin to seek friends and activities to be apart of.
• For guidance as Tim leads our group and the both of us begin to lead Bible Studies and events for our ministry.
• For a form of transportation, as my car is not in working order. I will keep you up to date on this situation. God has been gracious so far in providing a car this last week from friends on vacation.  (Thank you Yumen Family!)

Thanks for your continued prayer as we continue on in a very important time in our ministry and as the school year kicks off for all of the students.  I will keep you updated with all the happenings of this next week.  For now, have a blessed weekend and please let me know how too can be praying for you.

For the King,

          Stephen R Holechek

Sunland Region Navigator Staff Kickoff Retreat

I apologize this is a little bit late of an update having to do with two weekends ago, but I thought it would be good to let you know what has been happening over the last two weeks since arriving here in San Diego.

The first weekend after I arrived to San Diego we had a kickoff retreat for all of the Sunland Region Staff of the Collegiate Navs.  We spent the weekend in hot Palm Springs.  This weekend was for all of the collegiate staff in California, Hawaii, and Arizona to come together for a weekend of encouragement, time in fellowship and the Word, and a time to be reinvigorated with our vision as Navigators and the specific vision for the region.  It was an amazing weekend with the Lord.

The retreat was just what I needed.  After my car broke down the week before and being stuck with no car, I felt a bit discouraged and cooped up.  Palm Springs presented a wonderful opportunity to meet many of the staff here in the Sunland, as I am coming from out of the region.  All of the staff I have met so far are a joy to be around and very welcoming. 

On the first morning after having a night of food and fun, Joe Maschhoff, our regional leader, gave a "State of the Sunland" address and talked a bit about the history of the ministries in the region and a bit about where we are heading.  It was so refreshing to hear Joe stress the fact that our ultimate purpose here in the Sunland is not just to reach the lives of students on campus in California, Arizona, and Hawaii, but to see the students that we invest in take the Gospel of Jesus to the Nations of the World.  That is our vision as Navigators:  To advance the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom into the Nations, through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling amongst the lost.  I LOVE IT!  I love that, though I am small and powerless myself, God can use me to be apart of His body to reach the people of the world, all for HIS Glory. 

Another thing I find to be neat and I am privileged to be apart of is the time and legacy that people have poured their blood and sweat into on college campuses here in the past.  These campuses and ministries have been prayed for and looked after for years, and it was so neat to hear how we as staff are a beginning answer to many years of prayer.  Will you please continue these prayers with me for UCSD and all of the campuses in the Sunland?  Please pray that God will just make his presence so deeply known and that students would come to know Him and give their life to Him and His work.

All around the weekend in Palm Springs was a great time to refocus on what the Lord has brought me out here for: to minister to students at UCSD and help to love them with the love of Jesus.  After the weekend God had made it clear that he is in total control, whether I have no car or five cars, whether I am sick or healthy, no matter what, He is God and He is in control.

Thank you once again for all of your prayer and support.  I couldn't be out here with out you and your contribution.  My next update will be coming very shortly about the week leading up to class at UCSD!

Goodbye for now and talk to you all soon!

In San Diego!

Hello everyone.  I am officially and finally in San Diego, California.  My girlfriend Tess and I left last weekend from Colorado and came out to California.  We stayed with my grandpa one night in Orange County and came down Sunday afternoon to stay with Tim and Stacey Chou.  Tim and Stacey are the Navigator Staff couple at UCSD.  They have a little guy named Nathaniel who is about 18 months old.  This first week I am here, I will be staying with the Chous.  Next week I will move into my new housing arrangements where I will have a room and such to call my own :)

 

Unfortunately, my girlfriend Tess, who lives and works in Colorado Springs had to return to life back home on Monday.  We had a great time road tripping out here and a good time getting to know Tim and Stacey a little bit.  If you think about it, please be praying for Tess and I as we are in the beginning stages of a long distance relationship.  We are really excited about what God will do in each others lives, but dearly miss each other. 

School at University of California, San Diego begins the fall quarter on September 25th.  So, it is nice I have a few days to adjust and transition into the city and area and spend some time with the Chous talking about the ministry and praying for the year.  We will have time to get to know each other a little better and seek the Lord.

This weekend we will be having a retreat for all Collegiate Navigator Sunland Region staff (The Sunland region includes Arizona, California, and Hawaii).  This will be a time to get into the word, pray, worship, and bond together as staff and look at the vision of the region and the Navigators: To reach the Nations.   Please pray for this time for all of the staff that it will be refreshing, encouraging, challenging, and God-honoring.

I will update you all about how the retreat goes this weekend and all God is doing this week. 

Here are a few things that I am praying for and invite you to join me when the Lord brings it to mind:

• For Staff team unity for our campus ministry at UCSD.
• For a smooth transition into the city of San Diego and life as a full time staff member.
• For the remaining funds needed to be at 100% would come in
• For those I left back at home including my friends, family, and girlfriend.

And for those of you who don't know who Tess is, let me introduce you to my girlfriend, Tessica White.

She was born and raised in France and came to the states for College.  She went to Harding University for three years and got her Bachelors degree.  She has been living in Colorado Springs for three years working for a company called Sparta in their HR department.  We met this past year in March and began dating in May.  We are both very excited to see God work in our relationship and in each others lives.  She is a very sweet and kind hearted woman who loves Jesus and people.  Feel free to ask me about her or anything about us anytime.  I love talking about her!  Please pray for Tess and me as we learn how to communicate over long distance and learn to stay close and connected with what is happening in each others lives.