from here on out

Ben and I sent out a communication survey to our ministry supporters a couple of weeks ago. We wanted feedback on how our partners prefer receiving communication from us.

It is said that numbers don't lie. According to the numbers of our survey results, this ministry update blog is not a primary source of information for those of you who pray for and financially support work on campus. As a result we won't be updating this blog in the future.

Instead we will continue to send out monthly e-letter updates.

If you are not on that distribution list and would enjoy receiving our e-letters, please let us know. Send an email to andrea.garner@gmail.com and we'll get you signed up!

transition

Now that I'm a married lady figuring out how to do ministry with my husband, Ben, who is also on staff with InterVarsity, I anticipate this update blog will go through some kind of transition. You see, he's been updating folks who have supported his ministry via his own ministry blog.

I can foresee a few possibilities:

We might start posting here together.

We might post on his ministry blog together.

We might start an entirely new joint blog to post about ministry happenings.

I will let you all know how we decide to proceed!

In the meantime we appreciate your prayers as we begin Winter Term in Corvallis. The weather is gloomy and as I prayed with some students last night we had the collective sense that God wants to break through some of the metaphorical clouds in students' lives with His light.

May it be so!

learning how to celebrate

Creating our 70-foot long banana split was a group effort!

Ben, Michael, Dawn and I spent time praying on campus before our Mustard Seed retreat with our student leaders. As I sat on a bench across from the Memorial Union, the words of Luke 15 were running through my head.

Three parables about lost things/people being found and the celebrations that follow.

The celebrations caught my attention. I began to pray that we would become known as a community on campus that knows how to celebrate well. What if our fellowship had a reputation as the place to party?

Students at OSU know how to party. Choosing to follow Jesus conflicts with the typical party lifestyle, but what if students knew that it was an invitation to the best party ever?

We're working on creating a culture of celebration in our fellowship. We want OSU to know that when Jesus shows up the party gets good. Really good.

Whether we're inviting new students to eat a 70-foot long banana split or delivering "Welcome to the Family" cupcakes to a freshman who decided to follow Jesus last Friday night, we're taking every opportunity we can to celebrate!

meet the team

Michael and Dawn DeGarmo - our fabulous staff partners at OSU

Joining a new staff team is a big deal.

My staff friends in St. Louis lived within a ten-minute drive from each other. This is not true of my Oregon staff team. We're spread out from Portland to Eugene. I knew this reality would be a big change for me.

Getting to work on a team of four at OSU has made all the difference. Ben and I get to work with another couple as we figure out how to do campus ministry together. I really appreciate the partnership that we have with Dawn and Michael. They are both gifted leaders and the students love them! They are responsible for all of the leaders who are hosting Bible studies in four of the residence halls at OSU.

I can't wait to see the fruit of their leadership as the year continues.

Most of the Oregon Staff Team at Dawn and Michael's wedding in August

While I get to interact with Dawn and Michael regularly, I am also enjoying getting to know the rest of the IV staff team in Oregon. We spent three days together at the beginning of September and I quickly felt like I fit in. What a good gift!

I am excited to partner with my new staff team in increasing ways as the school year progresses.

OSU student leaders rule

Studying Ephesians together during Mustard Seed

The last two weeks have been filled with getting to know the OSU student leaders and prepping them to welcome new students to campus and InterVarsity.

September 14-17 our OSU staff team hosted a pre-Fall retreat for the leaders: Mustard Seed.

A local church in Corvallis housed us for four days of great food, Scripture study, New Student Outreach (NSO) planning, community building and training for The Red Cup - our primary NSO outreach event.

I was so impressed with the student leaders' excitement for the coming school year and their willingness to embrace the changes of a larger staff team and a few adjustments to fellowship structures.

We spent one morning of Mustard Seed at the Oregon coast and the weather was be-a-utiful! Not a cloud in the sky!

Ben and I were super pumped to get to introduce all of them to The Red Cup, since we were able to experience it for ourselves during the Intern Trek.

Basically, The Red Cup is a proxé station that uses the iconic college image of red, plastic cups - the kind typically used to hold alcohol at parties - to start conversations about the deep "thirsts" in our lives. It's a really creative idea that allows us to hear students' stories, talk about their thirsts and connect them to the story of Jesus, the ultimate thirst-quencher!

Ben and I worked together during our Red Cup training

The OSU students ate up the initial training that we led during Mustard Seed. Then they turned around and invited other students from the fellowship to join us for a second training last Tuesday, just prior to the actual outreach at the OSU freshman picnic on Tuesday evening.

So, in addition to our 13 students leaders, we had 7 students who joined us to lead new students through The Red Cup at the picnic. One of those students is a new freshman who decided to follow Jesus four months ago!

Our Red Cup tent was a hit at OSU. Students were literally lining up to be led through it. Praise God!

At the end of nearly three hours of leading people through The Red Cup, we had over 100 contact cards to follow-up with. Each of those cards represent someone who had a significant conversation with an InterVarsity student at the tent. All of our students at the tent got to share the Gospel multiple times. It was a great night of ministry!

Last night I spent time with a new East Asian graduate student who loved the tent and told me he is anxious to learn more about Jesus. He's looking forward to studying the gospel of Mark with the off-campus Bible study that I am helping to lead.

It's been incredibly faith-building for our student leaders to see God show up as we've risked trying something new during NSO. We've built a lot of momentum going into this first week of classes.

homecoming

I am embracing my new state. We're a good match for each other.

Moving across the country and getting settled in Oregon has been a really good experience. While there have been some bumps and hiccoughs along the way - not surprising - when I think back over the last month+ since I arrived in Corvallis, I feel so grateful for how quickly my new city and campus are feeling like home.

I'm living with a ridiculously hospitable couple in a gorgeous house north of town. Ben met them when he served as a guest worship leader at their church. When he mentioned that we were looking for a place for me to live until our wedding, they immediately offered their home. Talk about hosting strangers! I am enjoying getting to know them and I appreciate how graciously they've welcomed me into their home and how willing they are to let me host gatherings of staff and student in their space.

Corvallis is a small college town, which has made finding my way around fairly simple. I love that I can walk or take the free bus to many locations - saving gas money is the best! I love discovering local businesses and restaurants. I love dreaming up ways to spruce up the apartment where Ben is currently living and where I get to live, too, after November 12!

God's been really good to me. As Ben and I made the decision about our location for the next couple of years I had a strong sense that God was inviting us to experience redemption in new ways. This led us to feel free to settle where we most wanted to be: Corvallis. While I had a lot of anxiety before the move, I am so glad we chose to be here.

It's a great fit so far.

summer highlight - intern trek 2011

40+ interns and staff from the Western states in Flagstaff, AZ this July - Intern Trek 2011

Intern Trek 2011 was the highlight of my summer. Period.

I was worried that staffing the Intern Trek would be too much in the midst of a summer filled with personal transition, but it turns out that the Trek was exactly what I needed.

God knew that I needed a crazy 3500 mile roadtrip. He knew that I needed to connect with the interns from the Northwest. He knew that I need the chance to partner with former staff and supervisors from the Arizona staff team. He knew that Ben and I needed an opportunity to do ministry together.

Our staff panel dropped some veteran staff wisdom on the interns one afternoon.

I love investing in new staff! It was such a privilege to coach them as they took evangelistic risks during our Red Cup outreach at the University of New Mexico. It was a gift to pray with them through issues of calling and fear. It was a joy to laugh with them and share stories during long rides in the van.

The experience was really great for Ben and me, particularly as it provided an opportunity to lead together. The Northwest interns started referring to us as 'Mom and Dad' after the second day. Our coworker, Christian, from Seattle received the title of 'Uncle'. It was hugely encouraging to bond with staff who are part of my new region and to have a ton of fun working with Ben in the process. It was a double win!

Northwest interns and staff = my new family