BIG NEWS Over Christmas Break!!

In December, the students at UCSD get Christmas Break.  That means as a staff person who ministers to college students my primary job of investing in students on campus gets put off for a few weeks.  However, there are many other parts of the job that we continue to work on during the holidays, such as fundraising, donor communication, Bible Study prep, planning for the next quarter, and staff training and development. 

The first week of the Christmas break was spent in training and development at our EDGE Corps Summit.  We have summits in the summer and winter.  EDGE Summits are times when all the EDGE Corps staff from across the country come together and receive training, get refreshed, and learn and share about the different things God is doing all across the country on different campuses.  It's an extremely encouraging time!  The summit took place at Glen Eyrie Castle, the official headquarters and home of The Navigators.  During the summit we had different classes on the New Testament, relationships and marriage (more on this topic later in this post), intentional friendships, having a vision for the World, and more!  This was a great time for refreshing after our first quarter of ministry for the year.  It was also so fun to connect with many friends who are also doing EDGE Corps in other places around the country. 

The break was a really neat time to be with my family.  All of my sibling were able to come out for break.  Unfortunately, my brother Dave and his wife Stacy got delayed in Seattle and had to stay there through Christmas, but they were able to make it out the day after Christmas.  This Christmas was also the first Christmas that Tess got to spend with my entire family.  I also got to spend a lot of quality time with my close friends back home, whom I had left and had not seen much of over the previous four months.  It was really fun! 

And there was one other reason this Christmas break was so amazing!  The Big News...

I GOT ENGAGED!!!!! 

That's right!  Tessica White, who I have been dating since last year, and I got engaged this Christmas!  December 23rd to be precise.  For a long time now I have been praying about Tess and I and our future together.  Over the period that we have been dating, God has really melded our hearts together more and more and has led closer and closer.  Spiritually and emotionally of course, due to us being in two different states at the moment, I in California and she in  Colorado.  From the start we both saw God working in our lives and our relationship.  One thing I loved about how we started dating was that God brought Tess into my life in a way that I could not and did not try to put together or make work myself.  Before we had met, God had taken us both through trying times that made us rely upon Him more and more and begin to surrender our lives and futures to Him.  And for some reason, he found fit to bring us into each others lives.  We have both been extremely grateful and excited at what God had done in our lives and who he had brought into our lives.  Little did we know at the time he would slowly bring those two lives closer and closer together through Him.  Though we have had hard times, God has always seen us through them and used our relationship to remind us of His awesome love, grace, and to see and try to personify his character.  Especially when our dating relationship changed gears into long distance mode, we have had to trust him even more with our future together.  More and more, time and time again, God gave resounding confirmation that this relationship was one that honored and pleased Him.  And honestly, it has been more than a pleasure for us, and I am truly honored to have the chance to know Tess!

   I am so excited to be engaged to Tessica White.  She is a godly woman with such a servants spirit.  One of the first thing that really made an impression on me was how much she tried and extended herself to my parents and my friends.  She just seemed to fit perfectly amongst both groups of family and friends.  One of the first talks we had together was about our similar heart to have ministry be a part of our lives in whatever fashion God would call.  That was something I had not seen in a whole lot of girls I had been around in the past and it energized me to be sharing hopes and interests with someone who felt some of the same ways.  Tess comes from missionary parents who Pastor a church in France.  In this way we have been able to understand a little bit of where the other is coming from, both having ministry parents.  Another thing that I found so attractive and intriguing was the knowledge and experience Tess had in the world.  Growing up in France, she has experienced many parts of the world that I have only seen in movies and read in books.  The fact that she was fluent in two or three languages was pretty impressive too ;)  I know it is such an encouragement to both of us that we both come from parents and families who love the Lord.  Honestly, I could go on for quite sometime about all of the things I love about Tess and what has attracted me more and more to her, but I should probably stop there.  If you would like to know more about her just ask.  Oh, did I mention she is the most amazingly beautiful woman I know?  God has blessed her with a truly natural inner and outer beauty.  How did I get so lucky and blessed?  I thank God everyday for Tessica.

*****This next section is for those who would like the detailed events of how I proposed.  If you know the story or would prefer to skip this section, I have placed a few pictures at the end of this post.*****

On December 23rd, 2008 I picked Tess up from her work with a bouquet of roses.  I told her I wanted to take her out on a nice date, because I don't get to take her out often, due to living in another state. Tess suggested that maybe we could try out the Jack in the Box fast food restaurant that recently opened near her house :).  I said, well we could go there, or I made reservations for Biaggis if you like.  She was more than happy to go to Biaggis instead.  Biaggis is a nice Italian restaurant and the first place we ever went out to eat.  It was fun going back there and talking about the first time we hung out and got to know each other.  After having her favorite dessert, tiramisu, I suggested we drive around town and look at all of the Christmas lights.  Before we checked out lights around town, we got come coffee.  I took her to the first place we ever met, Starbucks.  We got our favorite drinks, sat, and talked for a while.  We reminisced over all the things God had done in our   lives and relationship since first meeting.  We got back in the car and I suggested we check out the castle at Glen Eyrie.  This is where I had planned to propose and share different things God had laid on my heart having to do with Tess and I, and show her places where I had spent time praying for her and us.  However, this is where the comedy of errors begins.  We pulled up to the driveway of the Glen and discovered the property was blocked off with cones and signs saying closed.  They had just shut down the property that night for Christmas.  So, it was on to plan B.  We turned around and I suggested we head down to the Broadmoor.  The Broadmoor is a nice, old hotel and resort in south Colorado Springs.  It's a very beautiful location with a lake that runs through the property.  While trying to get down to the Broadmoor we took a wrong turn and ended up in a completely wrong location.  After turning back and correcting the turn a few miles back, we finally reached the Broadmoor. :)

We got valet parking and walked into one of the two main hotels.  The hotels were all decked out with Christmas lights, a huge gingerbread house, fireplaces, and Christmas trees.  After checking  out all of the neat things in the first hotel we walked outside to check out the pond and walk to the other hotel.  It was fairly cold outside with snow on the ground and the trees all decorated with lights and ornaments.  We walked around and took  a few pictures together.  Looking around I saw that it was perfectly quiet and calm outside and it would make it the perfect location to propose.  I decided we would walk to the other hotel to check it out inside and when we returned back outside, I would propose in the stillness of night.  We walked into the other hotel and right away Tess could smell lilies everywhere in the main lobby.  Unfortunately, she is allergic to lilies.  So, we quickly moved to some side rooms and halls to look at the rest of the venue.  Knowing we were heading outside I began talking a little more deeply and intentionally about our future.  However, right after walking outside a family with cute little kids exited behind us.  The little kids followed and walked next to us.  For some odd reason, all of a sudden there were a lot more people outside.  It was pretty funny how it worked out that way.  So after walking back over to the first hotel we walked around for a few minutes trying to find somewhere to sit and talk.  With a little convincing I suggested we venture outside once more to look around a little more ;)  I pointed out a spot we had not gone to yet, which was off to the side with a few sweet lampposts and snow all around.   We stopped and talked a for a minute.  I looked at Tess and kissed her.  I told her I wanted to give her my Christmas present a little early this year.  She said OK.  I got down on one knee and asked her, Tessica Lanelle White, Veux tu m'epouser? I asked her to marry me in French.  She said Oui!  Yes, of course. :D  I put the ring on her finger and we had a long embrace.  It was an amazing time!  And yes, she cried.   After taking some pictures and enjoying the time and joy of the moment, we headed back my house,  where my parents and sister were waiting with Champagne  to toast our engagement.  It was a joyous time!  And it continues to be today.

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO GET MARRIED.  It will have wonderful times and hard times, but we will be together through it all and have God to trust in and rely on.  Please pray for us as we prepare for our lives together.  I will continue to update you all with what is happening in our relationship and in the plans for the future!  We love you all. 

Here are a few of our engagement photos:

 

ROAD RALLY '09

The Sunland Region Collegiate Ministries have three big events throughout the year where all of the campuses and their students get together and participate in a big group event.  During Fall Quarter we have what we call Road Rally.

(Click on Video for a feel of our road trip. Any "related videos" following are not associated, just placed up by msn.)

Road Rally is a weekend where all of the different Nav ministries road trip and meet up in one location to do some community service and have times of fellowship and worship.  This took place on a weekend in October.  We packed up 9 of our students into a 12 passenger van and took off for Sacramento.  It was about a 10 hour ride!   The road trip was a great way for our group of students to bond.  We played games on the way up like guessing games like 20 questions and other games like Mafia.  It was a hilarious and fun time on the way up.

 

We arrived at about midnight on Friday to the school that we were staying at.  This is also where we had our day of community service.  The school was an inner city school with an extremely high percentage of students without dads or both parents.  We slept on the floors of the Gyms at the school.

 

The school and our cars had to be monitored by Police throughout every night because of the high crime rate and gang activity in the area we were staying in.  On Saturday we were tasked with multiple big projects around the school.  The projects ranged from leveling the track field, repainting and replacing the nets on the basketball courts, to landscaping the grounds of the school.  All in all, it was a huge job and project for the 100 or so volunteers we all had.  We helped with many of the different projects, but our first project we took on as a school, and that was to take on the basketball courts.   We scraped off the old paint and shine, took off all of the old nets, repainted all of the basketball courts, and put new nets on as well.  There were about 40 nets in all!   Throughout the rest of the day our grouped helped other volunteers finish other projects and spent time with a lot of the students from the school. 

That night we had a time with the students and their parents of encouragement, sharing, and fun.  We had a big dinner with all of the volunteers, students, and parents.  It was a lot of fun.  Later on in the night we had a time of worship, prayer, and teaching.  This was another great time of learning and bonding for our students.  After all of the scheduled events we had a few giant games of mafia with people from all of the different Nav campuses. 

The following day we had another time of worship and prayer as a large group with all of the campus ministries and their students.  After many goodbyes with new friendships made, we packed up again and headed back down the road to San Diego.  It was one of our students birthdays that Sunday, so we all went out to LNL Hawaiian BBQ when we made it back home.  The weekend was a phenomenal time and such a blessing to our group and also the school we served at.  Many of our students who had not met before now have become friends.  It was also a great example of service and giving up a weekend for the students to experience. 

Here are some more pictures from the road trip and service work at the school:

NavWest

There were many things that excited me about coming out to San Diego to minister:  The weather, the beach, being close to my siblings, going to a brand new place with new people where I would have to trust God immensely, a new and big campus to be a part of, new staff to work with, and many other things.  However, one of the biggest things that really excited me about the Sunland Region and being able to come to San Diego was what they call NavWest.  NavWest is a time of training for all of the EDGE Corps staff and the Staff in Training led by Lee and Deb Maschhoff. 

I love this training for a number of reasons.  It is a great time for all of the young staff to come together and get to know each other.  As I was one of the staffers coming from outside the region, I found this to be extremely beneficial in getting to know others in the region.  The staff in the region have been so incredibly welcoming, I now feel like part of the family.  I also love what we do during the training time.  In the morning we spend an hour discussing a Bible Study we had already prepared before getting there.  This study is called Route 66: A Bible Overview.  The study takes us through the entire Bible in two semesters.   Preparation for the Bible Study every two weeks requires about 2-4 hours of preparation and reading.  After the discussion on the study portion, we have an hour teaching session through the section of readings we had just discussed.  It's a great time of wrapping it all up and getting a clearer, bigger picture as to the character of God, his people, and what it all means for us as children of God.

Then, we all have lunch together, all of the EDGEr's and Staff in Training.  After lunch, one of the Nav Reps speaks for about an hour or so on different topics.  Some of the topics shared in the first quarter have been impossible prayer lists, creating environments of grace, fundraising, and how to lead Investigative Bible Discussions.  After these one hour sessions, the EDGEr's take off for the afternoon as the Staff In Training Bible Study takes place.  We all come back together for dinner and then have a different activity each week put on by Lee and Deb. 

I have loved these times for the relationships, but also for the spiritual growth and development.  It's been amazing to cover big chunks of the Old Testament every few weeks and see the bigger picture, and more and more clearly see the character of God.  One of the things that has been eye opening to me is seeing how, while God is a just God, he is also a very gracious God.  My thoughts about the Old Testament always were very clear cut and dry.  But, after studying the Old Testament closer and having some good teaching on the different books, it's been neat to see God is always following up his justice with grace. He is always giving man a chance.  When he kick Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, he also promises a solution to man being out of relationship with God.  After realizing many of these ideas it makes it more clear of God's love for his people, for his creation.

Digging into the Word

During the beginning of the Fall Quarter, Tim and I constantly swept through the dorms, trying to meet as many students possible.  We followed up with the students we helped move in.  During the first week or two we met Club 410, followed up with some referrals from friends and pastors, and tried to meet new students.  God really blessed our efforts and opened up many doors for us.  We now have a number of pockets of people spread out around campus.  Out of the six colleges spread across UCSD we have multiple pockets in three.

During our time in meeting with students, being mostly freshmen, we realized that we had believers who desired some good bible study and some who had non-believing friends who might be interested in joining us.  We decided a great place to start all the students was the Gospel of John.  We have geared most of these studies to be hybrids, or a mix, of Investigative Bible Discussions for someone who has no or little knowledge of the Bible or of Jesus, and Bible Studies for those who have some idea of who Jesus is and what the Bible says.  We did this for a few reasons: We wanted to be able to get a good idea of where all the students were at in their journey to and with Christ, and we wanted to make these sessions to be accessible and comfortable for someone just learning for the first time about Jesus Christ.  This seemed to work really well in trying to get the students that we met who know Jesus to ask their suite-mates to join.  A huge benefit to having these sessions in the Word on campus and in the dorms is everyone around sees and gets curious as to what their friends are doing.  It's been neat to see students join our studies because they see their friends reading the Word.

In Acts 2:42-47 it says: 42"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."  This was a key passage for us as we continued to pray and conduct sessions and studies on campus.  It was neat to see God literally add to our numbers at times.  One prime example of this which really excited Tim and I, as well as the students, were one day in the Muir College Dormitories.  We were in our second or third week oh a John study with about 4 other guys besides Tim and myself, one of them being a non-believer.  As we had our study people would walk through the commons lounge we were in and ask what we were doing.  The first person asked and we told them we were reading the Bible and asked if he would like to join.  He said sure!  So we gave him and extra Bible and he sat down and joined us.  Then, a second guy walked through about ten minutes later, this guy was in the military, and asked what we were doing.  We said reading the Bible, want to join us?  He said "Yeah, I'll be back," and walked off.  Two minutes later he came back out with his own Bible and started reading and discussing with us.  It was neat to see God grant us favor and have men join our discussion right there while we were doing it.  This was also very energizing for the believing students, for them to see people curious and seeking what Jesus is all about.  To say the least these times have been a blessing all around.

We have had many opportunities to look at who Jesus says he is and what the Bible message is all about.  It's exciting for students to ask questions and see what all of the other students come up with as possible answers.  These discussion times have also been crucial for the development of our older students.  A few of our older students have been coming to these sessions to help lead and facilitate discussion.  I am blown away by the insight that all the students have.  It really encourages me to spend more and more time with the Lord in the scriptures and strengthen my walk and knowledge of the Word.  This is not just for knowledge sake, but first and foremost to grow closer to our Lord Almighty. 

Tim decided he would like me to lead all the studies and discussions, while he listens and looks for ways to help communicate the big picture.  This has been great training for me, as I have previously only had the opportunity to lead one or two studies ever.  Now I am given the chance to lead multiple studies every week.  I have loved it and it helps me to become a better question asker and to step out of my comfort zone a bit. 

During these sessions we like to have three parts.  The main part is the discussion and study.  The other two parts: Tim likes to lead a time of scripture memory and a time of sharing and accountability.  These times have been great as this is the first time many students are memorizing scripture and it helps Tim and I to diligently memorize new verses as well.  College is a great time to train people to memorize the Word of God because they are already in the habit of studying and memorizing for academic purposes.  If we can help to create a habit of memorizing scripture now, they will have this skill and the memorized verses for good.  The last part of the sessions is Sharing with each other.  Tim encourages everyone to just share things they are going through, anxieties, struggles, praises, and things to be praying for each other.  When first doing this, it can be uncomfortable for students to do.  Especially as men, we find it hard to share our hearts and open up about areas of our life.  But as time goes on, everyone in these groups begin to trust each other more and more.  After sharing we usually pray for each other.  This time is good for everyone.  It helps everyone become more comfortable praying out loud and publicly with others.  Soon students begin to grasp the concept of prayer being a time to just talk to God, as you would with a friend.  This also helps to bond each other week by week as we start to check up on each other on how certain issues are improving or continuing.  A brotherhood is being created!

Please continue to pray for each of these studies.  Pray that the Word of God will transform the lives of each person in the sessions and grow each person closer to our Lord and Father.  Please also pray that these doors would continue to stay open and more doors would open as well.

Here are a few of the students and "gatekeepers" who make it possible for us to be in their dorms and suites!

Two Months In...

Hello everyone,

Once again I must apologize.  It has been over a month since I last blogged anything and updated this on the Navigator ministry at UCSD.  God has been doing amazing things the past 5 weeks.  We have been leading multiple Bible studies and Investigative Bible Discussions in the dorms, helping students lead Nav Nights and Service Projects, and meeting with students one on one.

NAV NIGHTS

As stated in the "Welcome to Nav Night!" post, we are trying something a little different this quarter with Nav Nights.  This quarter our theme is Serving as a Team.  The different service projects the students came up with have been creative and fun. 

One team of students spoke on the other side of service, Prayer.  So the following week all of the Nav students got together and prayed for different dorms, friends, the school, the country, and others.  Some students brought some of their friends to this as well!  It was a great time in prayer and fellowship. 

Another service project focused on healing and being there for people who are sick and hurt.  So as a group we went down to a retirement/hospital home.  It was a place where many people were placed when they could not take care of themselves anymore.  It also served as a hospital for people with cancer.  We broke into smaller groups and went from room to room spending time with people and offering warmth and encouragement.  It was a very new experience to most.  Though it was hard emotionally at times, it was clear to see that people were blessed by a little company.

The last service project of the semester was about stress and worry.  So, because it was around finals week, the students leading decided to have an event of fun, food, and games for students to come and relax.  It was a very fun time of helping people not to stress and a great activity for people to bring their friends to.  It served in a way that was practical, helpful, and fun for the students amidst midterms, projects, and upcoming finals.

These have been the service projects that we have taken part of this past Fall Quarter.  Each week before the service project we would have a time or Bible Study having to do with the topic covered for the project.  This semester Nav Nights have been a great time for all of our students to come together once a week and fellowship together.  For most it is a great time of encouragement and spiritual input.  Each quarter we will have a different theme.  This quarter has been serving as a team, next quarter will be Gods Love. 

Tim and I view NavNights as the cherry on top of everything else we do with the ministry.  It's such a treat to be able to have these times with our big group.  In the next post I'll tell you a little bit more about the Bible Studies and Investigative Bible Discussions.  The Bible Studies and One-on-One Discipleship are our meat and potatoes, our bread and butter, our time of deep investing. 

My Sincerest Apologies

Hello Everyone and anyone.

Please accept my most humble and sincere apologies for not keeping up with my ministry blog.  I am a little new to blogging regularly.  The last post I put up was at the beginning of last quarter.  A whole quarter went by and here we are.  Worry not however, I plan on posting a few posts on highlights of last quarter.  So the few following posts will be about last quarter and the ministry and the students.  God has done some amazing things on campus.  The next post will be called "Two Months In."  It is a post I had started but not finished, nor posted.

Once again, my deepest apologies on not keeping you up to date as much as I had hoped.  I will truly try harder this quarter to keep up on all of this.  Thank you for grace in this area :)

Now, on to last quarter.

Welcome to Nav Night!

Every Wednesday Night at the University of California, San Diego, The Navigators hold a fellowship meeting we call Nav Night.  Nav Nights are for believers and non-believers to come fellowship together, study Gods Word, and have fun relating with each other.

The first week for our first meeting, Tim and I lead a study in Acts 2:42-47.  We used this passage to look at things our community and fellowship on campus can focus on.  Theses things included devoting ourselves to the Word and Prayer, serving the group and others, working as a team, and that ultimately it is the Lord who adds to a community's numbers.  We challenged everyone to begin praying for friends in their lives.  After our meeting, most of us went and ate together, going to the Price Center (one of the university hangouts) for food on campus. We had a great time of eating and relating together.

 

As the UCSD Navigators, we are trying to do things a little differently this year.  Instead of having our traditional Nav Night meetings every Wednesday, we are having them every other week.  On the off weeks we have a service project based off the previous weeks time in the word.  We want to be both hearers of the word and also doers.  We figured, why not put what we as a ministry are learning and actually go out and apply it. 

So, our first Nav Night was on October 1st, and we looked at the passage in Acts 2:42-47.  The passage speaks of the community of believers who devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles, breaking bread together, and praying.  In verse 45 the Bible says this, "Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need."  Because of this, the next week we decided that as a community of people on campus, both students and staff, we would get together possessions we wanted to give away such as shoes, clothes, and other items and take them down town and give them to the homeless living on the street.   Along with our possessions, we all got together and made sandwiches and bagged sacked meals for people living on the streets of downtown San Diego.  It was a great opportunity to serve people who were in more need than ourselves and help to love these people.  Most of the students had not had the opportunity in the past to walk down the sidewalks and talk to people living there.  All of the students seemed to have a great opportunity and asked when we will be doing something like it again.  So, we will be having another Nav Night this coming Wednesday and the following week we will have some sort of service project in conjunction with what we learn the week before.