house party

Tomorrow afternoon I will embark on a trek to the mountains surrounding Colorado Springs, CO. My co-worker Allison and I are taking nine international students to the International House Party, a week long camp for international students held at InterVarsity's Bear Trap Ranch. Most of the students attending are not yet followers of Jesus, but they will be encountering him through scripture each morning and through our interactions during the week.

Please pray for safe travel, loads of fun, and for many of our guests to make decisions to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord.

the plot thickens

Meet Paul. He's on staff with InterVarsity at UC Santa Barbara. We met at our staff conference in January and now we're dating.

Here's to another unexpected twist in the plot! It gets added to a long list of plot twists from the past several months.

Your prayers for wisdom are valued as we continue to get to know each other. We're definitely putting the "long" in long distance relationship, but I spent a week in Santa Barbara last month and he'll be in St. Louis for a week in June.

Unlooked for, unmerited gifts...

new life

...it's just like you to bring light into darkness / it's just like you / lord, it's just like you / it's just like you to bring beauty to ashes / it's just like you / lord, it's just like you...

Spring has arrived in St. Louis and it is a stunning sight to behold. There is something incredible about seeing new life in full bloom: God's story of resurrection on full display.

Wednesdays are typically my Sabbath - a time for rest and extended time in prayer and Scripture. I find myself returning to the Missouri Botanical Garden again and again - such a different environment from Wash U's campus and truly a place where I connect with the One in whom I live and move and have my being.

Here's a sample of what I observed during a recent visit.

As this academic year comes to a close, I am clinging to the promises of God for the students I've met this year who have yet to experience new life in Jesus. Our God is might to save and I am choosing to have faith that resurrection is possible in their lives.

I am praying, speaking, and walking with hope because the Spirit of God can cause skeptical hearts to become curious.