Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

This actually made me cry at the end! Hallelujah.

Last Day on Campus in 2010

Students are finishing finals * some of our co-workers have left Milwaukee to get to their families before the snow hits * Ben and I drove in from Downers Grove, IL this morning after visiting my family for the weekend. These are signs of the end of the fall semester, and yet we have made appointments with students on campus today. I'm not going to lie-I was a little unmotivated to drive to the East side today for one appointment, knowing it is supposed to snow around 3pm and I would have to drive home in it. This is the week I get to work from home and don't have to leave my apartment all day for meetings or Bible studies. I can send emails and plan for next semester in my pajamas, while listening to music. Ahhh...

Ben also made an appointment to meet for the first time a guy who had come to our October outreach. It can seem impossible to follow up with students who attend these, especially months later, but even during finals week, this guy responded to Ben's last attempt to get together. I'm at a nearby coffee shop waiting for the girl I am meeting to finish her last final, when Ben excitedly calls to tell me that this guy he met with put his faith in Christ! Our outreach had given him the opportunity to reach out to someone who follows Christ and ask the questions he needed to ask to help bring him to the point of making this decision. I am so glad this is how Ben spent his last hour on campus!!

Though it seemed like coming to campus today was inconvenient and not how we "should" be using our time with just a few planning days left, clearly God had something better that we didn't know about. I can't wait for my appointment in one hour!

Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."


Us with Jim Monroe, the creative mind behind the MAZE Outreach we had in October. To learn more visit www.whatisthemaze.com.

Men's Conference

A couple of months ago, I (Ben) was humbled when I was asked to emcee the 2010 Upper Midwest Regional Men's Conference for Campus Crusade for Christ...long title I know. The conference happens once every two years, and the focus is on calling men to step out in faith and think about how Jesus can be Lord of their lives now, as well as after college as they consider where He may be leading them.

The only other time I had ever emceed was my junior year at the University of Iowa at the weekly CRU meetings. It was really encouraging hearing Troy Shirley, the conference director, tell me that he asked a number of men who they thought should be emceeing, and my name came up again and again. It was a lot of fun just being myself up there, helping cast vision to men to be "dangerous" for Jesus.

The reality is that a lot of men talk about serving Jesus with their lives. A lot of guys sing songs about investing their lives for God's Kingdom. Tons of guys think about going and bringing the gospel to the world....but the reality is, very few actually "man up" and go. I loved being able to talk about this, as well as other things the speakers touched on.

I would say the highlight of the conference for me was this: Jesse Guerrero, a freshman at UW Parkside, put his faith in Christ earlier this year, and he decided to come! It was awesome seeing Him really think for the first time about how he could live his life sold out for Jesus, and even wrestling with what that really meant. One of the days at the conference (it went Friday to Sunday), all of the guys went out and shared the gospel with neighborhoods in Minneapolis of churches that we had connections with. I was paired up with Jesse, and it was so amazing and humbling to think about the fact that Jesse was already multiplying his life and sharing his new-found faith in Jesus.

I hope this conference was more than just an experience for the 200 men that attended, but that it would part of what God is doing to spur them on to use their lives to invest in the Great Comission.

Winter Wonderland!

At the first snowfall, we enjoyed a chilly walk through the Washington Heights neighborhood which has beautiful, old houses and picturesque landscapes.