Intern Trek 2011

Ben and I will work together for the first time this summer. That seems like good practice for the future! Back in November we were both invited to staff the 2011 Intern Trek.

What is the Intern Trek? Well, I am so glad you asked!

The Intern Trek is a training experience for new interns in the Western US. You can learn more about it here.

Fun fact: Ben and I met on the 2004 Intern Trek. Here is the proof:

It took many years before a romantic relationship blossomed,
but this is technically the first time we appear in the same photograph.

The Trek involves a lot of travel (we'll be driving 3,000 miles when all is said and done) and great training by some incredible IV staff. We'll each be responsible for leading a small group during the Trek and helping out with some evangelism coaching during a proxé outreach in Albuquerque.

The Trek itself begins in Albuquerque and ends in Flagstaff, but we'll be driving down from Portland with the Northwest interns and back up once the Trek is over.

But what's summer without a roadtrip?

Oregon Trail

New campus. New city. New friends and co-workers. Newlyweds.

New is pretty much the word to described most of my life for the next six months.

Some of you might be wondering what's going to be different about my IV staff role at Oregon State. Allow we to attempt to fill you in on some of what I am anticipating.

The major difference is that I'll be working on a campus staff team.

Dawn and Michael, two of my new teammates, are getting married in August. Ben and I comprise the other 50% of our team and we're getting married in November. Two newly married couples trying to figure out how to work with each other and as a team? That's a lot of new relational and team dynamics to tackle at once. We need your prayers!

Michael + Dawn

Ben + me

It's going to be a completely different experience working more closely with other staff. I'm looking forward to that! I also expect that it will be a challenging adjustment after four years of flying solo in a replanting/planting ministry context.

With that in mind I'm grateful that Birch, my new supervisor, wants to give me space in the Fall to get to know Oregon State and continue to test out my planting abilities. I'll get to invest in the student leaders of the off-campus Bible study (all of the other Bible studies are in the dorms) and help them figure out how to reach out to their friends and neighbors in their classes, clubs and apartment complexes.

I have also been praying for open doors into the Black and Latino student communities at OSU. I am looking forward to discovering where God is at work on my new campus! I am also looking forward to the continuing development of my planting skills/experience even in the midst of an established IV chapter. That feels like a really good fit for my gifts!

OSU students at Winter Conference in February

The Oregon staff team = my new co-workers

Q & A: WUCF's future

You've got questions. Well, I've got answers!

Q. Andrea, you're transferring to work with IV at Oregon State University and getting married in the Fall. Congratulations! Who is going to staff WUCF in your absence?

A. Thanks! I'm excited for this MAJOR transition in my life and ministry. Choosing to transfer, however, has some costs. One of those costs is that there is no one to take over as full-time staff with WUCF.

Q. What does that mean for the students who were connected with WUCF this past year?

A. Christian freshmen at Wash U are an interesting bunch. Many of them get involved with multiple ministries on campus their first year and it takes a personal invitation and some good vision casting to help them see the value of committing to one community more deeply. I chose to challenge the students I gathered into WUCF to fully commit to lead and serve in another ministry that they were most connected with.

This does not mean that they won't continue to be connected with InterVarsity. A few are being invited to participate in the MOmentum, our evangelism cohort, next year. They are also invited to Fall Conference.

As I considered the history of InterVarsity at Wash U - which includes a lot of staff transition - I felt like this was the best move for the future.

Q. What does this mean for InterVarsity at Wash U?

A. The two other undergraduate fellowships - Asian Christian Fellowship and Harambee - will continue to develop missional student leaders and seek ways for their students to partner together as they reach out on campus.

Pray for wisdom for the Wash U staff team as they seek God's guidance for the future of multiethnic ministry on campus.

Q. Any highlights from this year of planting?

A. There were lots of ups and downs in the planting process. Fall semester was particularly rough as I experienced some rejection by students I had a lot of hope for in terms of their involvement.

Spring was a different story.

The fruit of perseverance was a huge gift: I gathered a group of students and they were growing together as we took risks to apply what we were learning from Jesus in our Bible study. It was such a privilege to get to lead them!

As I shared about my departure with them individually I received the unexpected feedback that some of my hopes for the year were becoming a reality. They felt like I consistently challenged them. They were discovering new things about God as we dove into Scripture. They were beginning to view the campus as their mission field.

I can't think of a better highlight!

May 2011 - Wash U Graduation
(I wish I could take credit for this photo. I cannot)