Tyler and Shannon

New strategies on the horizon

2010-03-10T13:56:00.005-07:00

As campus staff we're always looking for new and inventive ways to love students, initiate spiritual conversations with them and get them involved in what God is doing on the campus. So as the spring is coming to an end, seniors are graduating, and many students are getting ready for a summer of working and/or traveling, we have begun to plan what next fall will look like.

We have some great things in the works. One thing we're considering is an all Freshman bible study, the hope with this study would be that freshman would build community early on. There would be upper classmen leading discussions and planning events, they would also be mentoring these freshman. We have said in the past that the first 6 weeks of school are very crucial, it is the time when freshman are getting involved and trying to find a place to fit in on campus, we want to make sure that with us that place is clearly established and welcoming.

In our prayer letter Tyler talked about IJM, this is also an exciting thing that we will be pursuing. It is a christian organization that we will be partnering with. They work to end slavery, such as sex trafficking and labor practices. They actually work with law enforcement to find and incarcerate criminals involved in these acts. Since many students on college campus care about social injustice and that it unfortunately has not been the Christians heading up these movements it is neat to now have the opportunity to show the campus that we can act as well and be on the forefront of change. It has been really neat to see Tyler's heart in this and to see him run with it to raise awareness.

Finally, like I've said before there will be a lot of change in the fall with our staff team and new babies coming into the world. Currently I'm 32 weeks a long and the other pregnant staff woman, Rachel is 36 weeks along, we are getting close and very excited. I've also been very nervous with this pregnancy, not for any good reason but it has really brought me to a point of complete faith and trust that God will take care of everything. This is truly one aspect of my life that I have no control over the outcome. Sure I can eat right, get good sleep and exercise but ultimately everything is in his hands, it is a great and sometimes scary place to be. We also have scheduled a c-section and would love prayer during that time, it will be April 29, 2010 at 12pm. The reason we are doing a c-section is that I had an emergency c-section with Lacy and my doctor said that there would about a 90% chance that I would end up with one with this one also, I didn't think those odds were worth trying.

This is Lacy and her friend Carter, they are just a month apart and love eachother. They play at least once a week if not more. We have become great friends with Carter's parents and are so thankful for them.

DCC and the spring semester

2010-02-03T21:31:00.006-07:00

DCC is Campus Crusade for Christs winter conference. We invite college students from neighboring states to come to Denver to enjoy the city, community with other college students and to challenge them to make desicisions that will impact their lives. From CSU we had about 30 students, there were a lot of freshman and many guys that I had never seen before. That may sound bad, but I thought it was great, it was a great indication that God is reaching beyond what I can imagine.

This year there were so many neat things about the conference. One of the neatest part of the conference was what was called "card board testimoniasls", what made it so impactful and emotional for me was that I knew many of the students who bravely went on stage infront of hundreds people and shared their testimonies (they wrote on a piece of cardboad a sin or struggle, then flipped it over to reveal how God had healed them) knowing them and knowing how God had worked in their lives was so encouraging to see, I have been so blessed to be a part of those students lives. Another neat aspect that was part of the conference was a pledge where the students were challenged to committ one year of their life to full time ministry, what is so cool about this is that from that committment we see many students finding ways to serve, not only with us (campus crusade) but with churches or other ministries where they can live out or find their passions.

Another reason I love DCC is that for the last several years I have gotten to be a part of the finance/registration team. Because I'm a mom I actually don't have to have any job a the conference but I would not give it up. I'm sure there are those of you out there who can't imagine why counting money or importing info in to the computer could be fun, truthfully that isn't why it's fun. I love the team because of the other staff who I get to hang out with for most of the conference, we all get a long so well. I also love it because Tyler and I get to share a suite with some great friends.

The spring semester is always very unique, there isn't the same newness or energy that there is in the fall. Freshman are now veterans who are either committed or are recovering from a misguided failed first semester. Seniors are just counting the days til graduation and not much will distract them from that count. Our hope and prayer for this year is that we can create some energy and newness that God will use to draw students to himself before the summer.

One way that we are doing this is by starting an all women's biblestudy. We have already had 2 meetings and we are so thankful to see how God is already using it to bring new girls to the study and challenging long time leaders. We are reading The New Eve by Robert Lewis, it has been a great book that challenges us as women and what God desires for our lives.

Our spring will still be very unique, there are two babies coming (1 for us and 1 for another staff couple), a wedding, a job transition and a hiatus to raise support. With all those things in our staff midst we are so excited to see how God will work through it like only he can.

Below are some fun pics of our family

wow the fall just flew by

2009-11-30T15:22:00.008-07:00

Hi everyone, I'm so sorry that it has been so long since our last post. It's amazing how the semester just flies and how hard it can be to keep up. There are so many great things that have happened this semester it is so hard to know where to start.

The summer ended well, the summer project ended great with students coming back having grown in so many ways, ways that would later come out throughout this semester. Sarah Harmon was one our CSU students that was on the project, I have been spending time meeting with her this semester and it has been so neat to see what God has done in her life these last few months. She is now at a point of really considering interning with Campus Crusade, and she is really excited about the idea of spending her time pouring into younger girls and helping others understand what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I so love seeing women that I work with make decision and grow in ways that are going to affect their lives and the lives around them for eternity.

Like I said the semester has gone by so fast and we have done so many things to show Christ to the students at CSU. Every year we have several events the first week of classes. The first week is a crucial time, especially for freshman, this is the time that they will decide where they want to spend the majority of their time and who they want to spend it with.

We have a great group of students who have step up to lead, a lot of sophomores which is really fun, they're young with fresh ideas and they don't really know what to do with all those ideas. That is where we come in, to give some direction to those passions that they have and also provide some tools to help them.

On a personal note: It has been overwhelming trying to figure out ministry while taking care of an energetic two year old while pregnant. Our second child is due May 5th and we're really excited to have another. Though Lacy doesn't fully understand what it means to have a sibling she already is showing us that she'll be a great big sister, she has a doll that she walks around with saying "shhhshhshh". We celebrated Lacy's birthday on Halloween, it was so fun, she actually understood getting presents and loved dressing up and playing with friends.

We had a great thanksgiving, Thursday with my dad and Friday with my mom. Tyler's dad will be out here for Christmas, which will be 3 Christmases (not quite as good as the movie, but close). Besides Christmas, the rest of our December is going to be quite busy. This week we're going to zoo lights, then Saturday we're going to see Santa and then have dinner with our small group, the next week Tyler and I are driving to St. Louis for a close friends wedding, then just before Christmas we'll find out if we're having a boy or girl, we're so anxious and excited to know and we'll be sure to let everyone know.

I will try to be more consistant about updating the blog, thanks so much for all your prayers and support.

Staff gone game on

2009-06-25T12:21:00.006-06:00

It feels like we just as we get started and figure out what we are supposed to do with the students that the next thing we know we're are handing the project over to the students and we're heading out. The last week was full of writing up plans for the students, it is a way of encouraging them and challenging them to take some steps of faith during the summer and in their future. We take specific time away to share these plans with the students and answer any questions they may have as we allow them to step into our. leadership roles. I felt so encouraged by the response that my girls had and the steps that they will take to grow in their relationship with God and others. It is always a hard thing to end well and feel like it was a success, though there is no specific guidelines to define our success I always feel like I should have/could have done more, I know Tyler feels this as well. What happens after we leave is not up to me but is in God's hands.

Our students have done so much to bless Long Beach already. Since many students have had a hard time getting jobs we encouraged them to take that time that they would be working to spend more time at the church locations that we partner with. Many of the students go every day to the after school program for at risk kids, because we have so many students volunteering there the main directors, an older couple with no kids who spend everyday there, have been able for the first time in many years to take a vacation. It is so neat that we got to bless someone who has done so much to bless others.

The students have taken over leadership really well. Many of the students were excited about the 4 students who were put as directors over the project (one of the girls was my disciple and one of the guys was Tyler's disciple, not that we had anything to do with how qualified they were:)). Though there is always a worry about how the student will respond, this group of students did well accepting their roles. They have come together to support each other and encourage the follow through of the project goals.

Though we have high expectations for our students to reach out to the community it is hard to deny that they are still college students who like to have fun. The first night that the staff were gone one of the girls rooms (my girls) pulled a prank on all 4 guys rooms, and a fun safe prank war has broken out.

We continue to be encouraged about what are students are doing and the growth that will happen in their lives from what they will learn this summer.

project is underway

2009-06-04T12:24:00.007-06:00

So sorry it has been a while since my last update, it takes a while for things to get moving here. Project has officially been going for 20 days. When the students arrive they move into small condos, equipped with a bedroom that has military style bunk beds, living room, kitchen and bathroom. Most of the rooms have 5 people living in them, this is a great opportunity for community and conflict resolution:). The first week we have several training times set up to equip the students to share their faith through many different tools, to help them understand what it means to live in a city and a city like Long Beach, and to expose them to the many serving opportunities that they have.

The students have been looking for jobs in the city pretty much since the moment they arrived. Some have applied to over 50 places and have gotten jobs at restaurants, grocery stores and even some internships (these were set up before had, which was something that we encouraged via emails), others have gotten a little more discouraged and have had less luck. We know that the economy is bad and that jobs are hard to find and so we are doing all we can to encourage the students as they look, the jobs are out there but it does take time and we are sensitive to that. We realized that as a project in the future we will need to do some kind of job orientation, many of these students have never had to look for a job and really don't know what it takes to pursue them.

We have been serving several churches now for a couple weeks, the students have had some wonderful experiences. The students that serve at the school for at risk kids have stories of kids totally misbehaving and being rude to the next time loving that our students are there for the sole reason loving on them. Some of our students serve breakfast at a homeless shelter, they have opportunities to sit and have conversations with the homeless and they just love having people that want to sit and just talk about their lives. I think that serving with these churches is one of the best things about what we do here.

In this photo; Candace, Mac (who Lacy just adores), Jesse, Dan and Sarah (I disciple her at CSU, it is so fun to have her here).

Happy Birthday Tyler (tomorrow)!!!!

How did we get here?

2009-05-19T21:23:00.003-06:00

We left for summer project exactly a week ago and so far it has been a whirl wind of activity and excitement. We left last Tuesday at about 8am and headed down I-25. Lacy did great for the most part. She started to get really upset when we realized that she was pooping, now she wears diapers and though is somewhat potty trained has not qualms with pooping in her diaper, so we knew that something wasn't right, come to find out she at some point had pushed so hard she had cut something in her little butt. We called the doctor, they assured us it was nothing to worry about and that we just needed to watch it. After her little booty scare she did great, read books, drew on her magna doodle, slept pretty well and watched a couple hours of baby Einstein. The first day we drove 14 hours and made it to Las Vegas where we stayed at the Excalibur for the night. Tyler made sure to get In-n-out, despite the fact that we had eaten not and hour before hand.

The next day we left at about 8am and headed to Palm Dessert to stay with Tyler's mom, that was a much shorter trip then the previous day. We made it to her house at about 1pm, had lunch and relaxed on the couch. We also made sure to see the finale of Lost before bed (crazy ending, can't wait to see how they wrap things up in the final season).

Though our original plan was to leave for San Diego (Tyler's brother graduated from Law School in San Diego on Saturday) We decided to leave a day early. When we got there we went to see Corey first, had some yummy Mexican, checked into the hotel and hung out there before bed. The next day we met up with our friends, Josh Dages and Justin Glover, who both have ridiculously long flowing locks. It was so fun to see them and catch up.

Saturday was truly a day of celebrating. It was so fun to see Corey accomplish such a feat of graduating from law school, though there is still the bar to pass and a job to find, it is such a huge step for him, we are so proud of him. Lacy did great sitting through the whole two hours, though we did have to go up and down the stairs a few times. That evening we headed to Long Beach to join the other staff in officially starting our summer project.

It has been an eventful first week. The first kink that we encountered was that the room we were assigned is a studio (where I'm writing from now), now this would not be such an issue if there was a closet or a normal sized refrigerator (we have a mini fridge). So because we are in a studio we have to turn off all the lights and hide at 7pm so that Lacy can fall asleep, this makes for a very boring and quiet night. We are moving tomorrow though, it will be so nice to be able to unpack and really move into our home for 6 weeks. The second kink was that the first official day that the staff are here happens to be the same day as the gay pride parade, the parade runs right in front of the hotel making coming and going virtually impossible (just cause there are so many people and a lot of partying going on). The last kink was that on Sunday night as the women are sharing their life stories with each other we encountered our first earthquake (of course while I'm talking), it was a 4.7, nothing was damaged and no one was hurt but it was quite the experience.

This week has been really fun and eventful. We are getting ready in many ways for the arrival of the students. We are going through some ways that we will help the students grow this summer and will also be preparing their rooms for the summer (most of them will sleep on military type bunk beds, it is all part of the experience). I will continue to keep you updated.

On our way to Long Beach

2009-05-05T13:36:00.003-06:00

In just a week we'll be headed down I-25 on our way to southern California, we will be heading to La Quinta to visit Tyler's mom and then headed to San Diego for his brothers graduation from Law School with our final destination being the Beach Plaza hotel in Long Beach on July 16th.

Though we are so excited to be there and to see all the amazing things that God will do in and through us while we're there, I'm feeling the anxiety of packing, planning and finishing up our time this semester on campus. I'm really going to miss our friends here, we have become really close with our small group, our kids love eachother so much and I'm really wondering if they will even remember eachother when we get back, I mean their only 18 months.

Before we leave next Tuesday there is so much going on. We have our last CRU meeting as a picnic at a local park, we will thank all of our leaders and plan for the fall with new leaders. We have our staff retreat up in steamboat, this will be our last time to connect as a team before we all go our separate ways for the summer. Finally, I will be meeting for the last time with the girls that I disciple, three of which will be graduating or transferring.

So with all that going on I'm trying not to stress out and remember that God is in control of everything that happens and he'll take care of all the things that I'm stressing about. Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Spring Break

2009-03-23T15:09:00.007-06:00

Just a little note about our spring break. We were so fortunate enough to visit Tyler's mom Karen in beautiful Palm Springs, California for 5 relaxing days.

We learned some fun things about Lacy, she has no fear in the water, she would jump in before Tyler was totally ready to catch her (but he always did), she also was comfortable swimming under water between Tyler and I, it was so exciting to see her excitement, though it made Karen nervous. She loves ice, to hold, throw and eat. She loves dogs that are smaller then her, even when the lick her all over. And she was great at wearing grandma out.

We spent time at the pool, went to the zoo (Lacy lasted longer then I thought, but crashed in the car), did a little shopping, enjoyed st. Patrick's day with Karen's friends (all of whom were so nice). It was a great trip.

Lacy also did great on the plane, we planned to keep her busy in as many ways as possible, crayons and paper, a new Elmo book, and last resort was a baby Einstein video. The biggest shock/blessing was that she fell asleep on the flight home in my arms, I never thought that would happen again.

A stacked team

2009-03-23T13:26:00.003-06:00

I'd like to think that I know a lot of sports terminology but there are many times when Tyler will say something that I have never heard before like pitch (soccer field), or aggregate (the combination of several scores in a tournament). One term I do understand is a stacked team, a team in which there are so many quality players that it almost isn't fair to the other teams they play against. This is the kind of staff team we are looking to have in the fall. We are so incredibly blessed to see the quality people that God is putting together to reach the CSU campus.

Two of our students Brittany and Brandon who spent this year as student interns are in the process to be full time interns in the fall, another student Henry, who has been faithfully involved in the ministry this year is also taking that major faith step to intern with us full time. We will also be welcoming in from other schools and states two guys Jeremy and David as full time interns, and last but not least we'll be getting another full time staff women, Sarah. It is amazing that we should be so lucky to have all that extra man power, that is what I call a stacked team.

Though we know it won't be without it's difficulties, with that many people we're looking at a need for a bigger space for meetings and a necessity to spend time getting to know each other, learning how each of us works so we will value our differences. Please pray for us and the campus, that we could make effective use of this gift of man power.

students serving the world

2009-02-19T21:38:00.005-07:00

One of the greatest parts of Campus Crusade is our summer projects. Tyler and I have done a total of 5, as students, as interns and as staff. It is one of our favorite parts and as I stated in the last post this year was going to be a little different in that the plan would be that we stay in Fort Collins and take seminary classes, though we would miss being on a project we were fine with staying here. Well there have been some changes and though I would like to say that there has been a final decision, I can't, that will hopefully happen by Monday. It looks like we may be making our way back for a second year in Long Beach. Though it has been a little difficult waiting for a final decision and the thought of having to pack up and move rather then stay home and relax is a little daunting, God has really worked on my heart to confirm that it is him that is in control and not me and that I can trust him to know what is best.

But what is really exciting about this years summer projects is that we have so many students who are taking incredible steps of faith by going on summer projects this year and many who are still seriously considering what God might have for their summer. Sarah is a junior going to Long Beach, CA, Debbie a sophomore is going to Germany, Heather a senior is going to Vail, CO, Brittany a senior is going to South Africa, Courtney a freshman is going to San Diego, CA, Alan a junior is planning on Alaska, another Alan, Adam and Andrew are all considering Long Beach, CA as a possibility and the chance that we will be there is a real pull for all of them.

These projects are all very different and serve each of their communities in wonderful and different ways. The Long Beach project has joined with many of the local churches to serve the homeless, to volunteer to serve a day care that takes in at risk kids, and help to set up a church that serves the inner city. The South Africa project helps at an orphanage where either one or both of the parents died of aids. At all of these locations the desire is to serve the communities and to share Gods love.

We will definitely keep you updated about what our summer will look like, thanks so much for all your support and prayers.

Just a note about us personally. We are doing great, Lacy is doing so well, growing so fast I can hardly believe it. She is fully walking now and chats up a storm, though we have no clue what she is saying, and she loves giving kisses, we love it. We are loving our small group that we are involved in at our church. Tyler and one of the other husbands in the group have started to meet weekly to talk about life, his wife and I spend a lot of time together, and the kids love playing together, we feel so blessed to have them in our life.

A busy start to the spring semester

2009-01-22T21:18:00.002-07:00

To start the semester off we planned a day where we gathered all the leaders together including freshman who express qualities or a desire to lead in some way in the ministry. This day consisted of meeting in leadership teams which are: the community team, outreach, and marketing. While in these separate teams the students brainstormed ideas to best serve in their area for the spring semester. This was a super encouraging day where many ideas were shared and we saw students making this their ministry with each idea.

The next thing we did to start the semester off well and at full force was, we served and will serve (Monday 1/26/09) free hot chocolate on the plaza (central point on campus)and offered an opportunity to win a $50 gift card to Target, all we asked was for the students to fill out a short questionnaire, including an area of their life where they felt they had a need (spiritually, mentally, emotionally, etc...), this will be a great way for us to serve the campus in a way that will really change lives.

The finale to this great start to the spring semester is our weekly CRU meeting, this is Gods well oiled machine where students can connect with each other and with Him. We meet in a classroom on campus and the meeting is primarily run by the students. This a valuable event that student's can count on.

The spring semester is always a challenge, as the weather gets warmer, days get longer, seniors are preparing to graduate and spring break is around the corner students get really busy and distracted. It was really important for us to start strong so that students would see the need to continue this semester as they started in the fall.

New Year of consistent updates

2009-01-13T14:34:00.001-07:00

In an attempt to keep our partners up to date about our lives and what is going on in our ministry here at CSU we are going to be much better at updating this blog. But I do need to ask for your patience and understanding as I (shannon) will be doing that and am not the best writer. But it is so important to us that you know how much your love and support means to us and that your prayers and finances are having an eternal impact on the students here. To start out this new year we spent a week and a half in denver at our annual Denver Christmas Conference, it was amazing to see the response we got from the student here at CSU. Our campus brought about 80 students many of whom were freshman there for the first time, experiencing the fellowship of other college students from around our region. This conference encouraged many students to make life changing decisions where they will impact lives all over the world. Many students are applying for short term missions trips this summer including South Africa, Vail, CO, and Long Beach, CA. I will be doing some of the references and am so excited to talk about the caliber of these ladies and what they have to offer. One of the guys that Tyler meets with is also taking a step of faith, he will be going to Isreal on a medical missions trip. It is so amazing to see these students hearing Gods call in their lives and taking the steps to follow his call. Personally, we did enjoy the conference when we weren't sick. The first full day we were there Tyler had the stomach flu, then Lacy got it and the last day it was my turn. For all of us it only lasted about a day but it was not fun. It was so sad to see Lacy throw up for the first time (that wasn't normal baby spit up. We had a great time reconnecting with staff friends, we stayed up late talking and playing games. We were also able to start making plans for our summer, this year will be a little different as we will not be returning to Long Beach like we had hoped but trust that this is what God wants. The leadership in our region and at long beach wanted to make a few changes in order to maximize the scope of the students they will reach to be a part of the summer project and we are fully on board with that decision. We will be staying in Fort Collins this summer taking seminary courses to further our education helping us to be more effective on campus as we engage with students. Since we won't be making our annual trip to California we will be flying out in May to celebrate with Tyler's brother Corey's graduation from Law school.

Potty Time

2008-03-03T09:59:00.004-07:00

AS you may or may not have heard, we are attempting to infant potty train Lacy. This process involves learning her patterns, and then taking her to sit on her little potty. What has truly amazed me is how quickly she is catching on. She is already "holding it" when she has her diaper on and waits (a reasonable amount of time) to go on her potty. No, she can't walk, crawl, roll over, talk or communicate in any way, so the word "train" is sort of a misnomer, but she does understand that is where she goes. Below is a short clip of her on the potty (surely a video she will hate us for later in life) and it's so funny because although she can't communicate, that doesn't mean she doesn't try! Apparently, she at least understands that talking involves moving your tongue and lips around and making sounds.

Video is having issues, we'll try to upload it again soon.

Lacy's First Swim

2008-02-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today we took Lacy to the rec center for her first swim! We all got our suits on and hit the pool! Check out the video below:

It's a girl...about 3 months ago!

2008-02-03T22:24:00.000-07:00

So, about 16 months ago we posted our last post on this site, and since then we moved into our first house, got pregnant and have had a baby girl. We are still loving life and our job working on the CSU campus with Campus Crusade for Christ, but really this post is basically going to be about showing of Pictures of our doll of a daughter! so here you go! Tyler

Just a few hours after birth, she just beat the clock and was born less than an hour an a half before Haloween.

What a cute smile! She's so photogenic!

She loves her Daddy! We watch football together.

That look is going to cause a lot of boys trouble, and me a lot of worries!
Man, she just melts me!

Time doesn't only fly when you're having fun!

2006-09-26T17:12:00.000-06:00

While this pat two months have been fun, there have definitely been time of stress and being overwhelmed. I feel like I have just taken over someone else's job and had to continue running at the same rate that they were when they left (not allowing any time for readjustment to US ministry might I add.)

So what usually happens when you get overwhelmed? Well more stuff gets piled on and of course it is stuff you don't know how to resolve. And so now there's no way to dig yourself out because you don't even know where to start. It is in these times that I don't understand how people who don't have the peace of the Lord ever survive. I rest in the knowledge that I know I'm not perfect, and I won't even do my job perfectly, and that is ok. Isn't that a relief, that it's OK if we mess up, cause there's grace and forgiveness. So then what is there really to get overwhelmed about when I can just relax and trust in that grace. Man...Writing in your blog can really be therapeutic!

A great start

2006-09-05T22:19:00.000-06:00

We started work here in Fort Collins a few weeks ago, and already We have seen God move in Huge ways! Already both Shannon and I have been able to pray alongside students asking God to come into their lives! Our staff team is great and we have already started to make friends among the student leaders. So far so good! It's good living in the "best city in the usa"-money mag.

ANYWAYS... Sorry it's taken me so long to update this, but hopefully it will happen more often now!

Fort Collins, here we come

2006-07-22T14:15:00.000-06:00

Well, as you can see it has been over 2 months since the last update. Shannon and I have been here in Colorado for 10 days and have already had the fortune of finding an apartment for next year in Fort Collins. We are staying at Shannon's mom's house in Erie, CO and are now just waiting to hear when we can move all of our stuff that has been stored here for the last year into our new place.

Were both really excited to be back, but miss our team back in Madrid. Most of them are currently walking the Camino de Santiago, a "spiritual pilgrimage" across northern Spain and they will be walking that for 10 days. I put Spiritual Pilgrimage in quotations because most Spaniards who walk it aren't doing it for spiritual reasons, but our ministry tries to remind those who walk with us of the spiritual purpose, and share with them our spiritual journey. We miss you guys if you're reading this!

Pray for a guy named Santiago (Ironic I know, but it's a pretty common name which translates to James in English) as he is very close to deciding to give his life to Christ. Thanks for all your prayers!

Coming Home

2006-05-20T07:59:00.000-06:00

It is finally official and out in the open, Shannon and I will not be staying in Madrid next year. We have heard a calling back to the states and we are overjoyed that we have been placed at Colorado State University! What this means is that we have less than 2 months left here in Madrid until we return to the states and start looking for a place to live in Fort Collins, the home of the CSU Rams.

As you may know, CSU is the in state rival of our own University of Colorado Buffaloes. However, seeing as we only play them once a year, I can root for the Rams for every other game of the year, and still hold my ties to the Buffs! Plus being only an hour away from Boulder, who knows how many CU games I might be able to make! Oh, and let's not forget that it is also a big plus that I am still in Denver Broncos territory!

As for now, Shannon and I are really trying to end well here in Madrid. We know that the summer project (16 students and staff from the states) is coming out in just a few weeks, and that leaves us plenty of time to continue to build new relationships and share with them the exciting opportunity to enter into a very real relationship with Jesus Christ! We are excited for the energy the project will bring. On Stint it often feels like were running a 10k race (long for me) but the summer project enters with a 50 yd dash mind set and things begin to move awfully quick. God is moving in Madrid, pray that we don't check out early and miss what He has in store! It's going to be an amazing summer!

Travel Day from Hell

2006-05-14T11:44:00.000-06:00

For the past two weeks, Shannon and I have been in Southern California at my Dad's wedding and then I had my knee surgery and recovered at my mom's for a bit. It was fun getting to go to the wedding and also a great surprise to be able to spend a few more days with my mom while I recovered because we don't get to see each other that often. When it was time to go, I don't think either of us could have been prepared for the trip back to Madrid.....It was a long day, so this post will be long as well!

We had changed our flight from the 30th to the 9th to allow for a follow-up appointment with the doctor, and so when we arrived at the ticketing counter around 8:30 in the morning, despite having our flight number, time the flight leaves, confirmation number and our passports, the ticketing agent couldn't seem to find our reservation. It seems that when we changed our flight, we had to get a doctors note (which we had at the ticketing counter) and then they wouldn't charge us for the change, but what the ticketing agent on the phone forgot to do was reserve us seats on the new flight, so after 30 min at the airport ticket counter, the lady finally processed our tickets and got us on the flight to Madrid through Atlanta. But the flight time had been changed so we had only 30 min to get through security until boarding started. With much luck in lines, we made our flight.

The biggest frustration of the day (because of its ripple affect) happened 4 hours into the flight to Atlanta. The pilot came on the speaker system and told us that there was some weather in Atlanta (which we never saw any sign of) and he didn't feel we had enough gas to get there. First of all, why in the world would a plane ever run low on gas on a 5 hour flight!?

So we took a 30 min stop in Pensacola, FL to get more gas making us over an hour late for our arrival and 20 min late for our connection to Madrid (the only flight to Madrid that day.) When we arrived, they told us to go to customer service and they would help us. After 20 min of waiting, the customer service lady told us that since we are flying international, we actually were sent to the wrong place and had to go to the International ticket counter, where we were put on a flight out of Atlanta to Barcelona, Spain that left in 1 hr and then we had a connection to Madrid from there.

We ran and again were lucky to get to the gate by the time we were supposed to board, but the flight was delayed 1 hr. So it was now leaving approx. 6pm Pacific time. We got on the flight, made the 9ish hour flight over to Barcelona 12:30 pm (3:30 am PT) , and realized that because of the delay, we missed our connection to Madrid again. We went again to the ticket counter, hoping to make the next flight out at 1:45 pm, but we were too late to make it, so we had to get on the next flight at 4:30 pm (7:30 am PT.)

Of course after waiting for 3 hours to get on this flight we went to check on what gate exactly we would leave from since they don't tell you until really close to departure. We found out that the module (a group of gates clumped together where your are told to wait for your flight) was changed, and this flight was also delayed and wasn't scheduled to leave until 5:55 pm (8:55 am PT) over 24 hours after we left my dad's apartment the morning before.

We hiked across the airport (let me remind you that all this day I was on crutches and Shannon had to carry all the bags) to the new module. There were 5 flights in this module leaving for Madrid before our flight that were originally scheduled for later, but because we were the ONLY flight to Madrid delayed, they all left before ours. While we waited, we took a nap on the oh so comfortable airport chairs and woke up with 15 min. to boarding.

Now the gate we were suppose to leave from was vacant and there was hardly anyone seemed to be waiting for our flight (like they had all changed flights to an earlier one) and so I went to check at the info desk and they assured me that the flight wasn't going to be canceled and would leave when expected. Well only 5 min. later, someone came over and asked us if we were waiting for that flight, and when we told them we were, they had us again return to the info desk and change our flight, because this one seemed to be canceled. This new flight boarded in 5 min and was again in a different Module. So Shannon grabbed our luggage and we hurried to the other module and got in line to board (in Spain, there is no order to boarding and definitely no early boarding for those who need more time.)

We finally got on the plane and arrived in Madrid at 8pm (11am PT) and of course, although our bags had made it with us all the way to Barcelona, they didn't make the plane transfer in time and didn't arrive with the rest of the luggage in Madrid. We went to the lost luggage desk and told them what happened and they told us to just wait 20 min. and our luggage would arrive at a different carousel from the flight that we were originally on. So that flight that was supposedly canceled wasn't, and we had to change flights for no apparent reason. After all this, we got our bags, got on a bus and got home around 9pm(12pm PT.)

In total, we took 28 hours of non-stop travel, arriving almost 12 hours late of our original 9:15 am arrival and missed 2 connections, had two delays, and a 30 min. gas stop in Pensacola that if we had just filled up the tank all the way in the first place, we would have avoided all this mayhem. That night we went to bed at 11pm, woke up at noon, and then fell back asleep from 2 until 6pm for a total of 17 hours of sleep that night/day. But after all this, we are safe at home and ready to get back on campus next week.

Paris

2006-04-26T15:24:00.000-06:00

My mom recently arrived in Madrid, we saw and did the stuff we like in Madrid, but the great thing was it gave us an excuse to go and visit Paris! So we packed our bags and put on shoes for walking and hit the streets of Paris. We were blessed to stay in a hotel in the Latin Quarter with a very Historic, yet young feel.

The View down from the top of the Eiffel Tower

The Louvre

We spent the First day walking around the city, seeing everything from the Arc du Triumph to the Eiffel Tower (which when we got to the top, we just happen to arrive during a thunder storm, and we feared lightning would strike the tower.) The second day we hit the Louvre, and spent 6 hours their. That night Shannon and I walked in pouring rain to dinner and then, faced down the rain and walked through the downpour and later sprinkling as we strolled along the Seine River to eat crepes underneath the Eiffel tower all light up at night. The last day we headed up to Montmartre and had a great view of the city. It was a great few days in Paris and I would love to go back and visit again someday!

Holy Week

2006-04-15T14:00:00.000-06:00

Well it is Holy week, and Spain is bursting with tradition. They parade life size sculptures of Jesus and Mary around the city for several days depicting scenes from the passion. People flood the streets to get a glimpse of these processions, as if by just being there it will help them in their relationship with God. It is really sad because it again reminds me of just how lost these people are.

Because of these crowds, often times you can't even get around the city. This week while, Shannon's mom, and her boyfriend Kevin came out to visit us, we escaped some of the craziness by heading down south for a couple days to Nerja Spain.

Nerja is just an hour east of Malaga (where I spent my summer with Crusade 5 years ago)and right on the Mediterranean Sea. We had a lot of fun hanging out in the rooftop suites (that the hotel gave us because they gave away our little 2 bedroom bungalo)of our hotel right on the beach soaking in the sun! We also got to eat some great food since it is a huge vacation spot for other european countries. All in all it was a great week, and now we get to look forward to easter tomorrow and my mom comes in on the 20th! Good times ahead!

What the heck is a meniscus?

2006-04-05T10:31:00.000-06:00

Well, it turns out that my problem with my knee is that I tore my Meniscus (the little muscle in your knee that work as shock absorbers between your bones) in my right knee. It looks like I will need a very minor surgery, and I will have it while I am back in the states for a week in the end of April, and should be back here in Madrid, on crutches for a week and then walking around again the first week of May. So pray that I get a good surgeon, and that I can get a surgery date as soon after April 30th as possible. Just thought you might like to know!

Just a nail

2006-04-05T10:12:00.000-06:00

Today was an exhilarating day on campus as we did a huge outreach to remind the students here that Semana Santa (Holy Week) is about Christ's love for us, so much so that he died a painful death on the cross (not to mention taking on the sins of the world and having his father forsake him) to show his love for us! So today we handed out nails on campus.

Yea, we taped 2000 nails to quarter sheets of paper that read "This nail represents the most profound and true love that has ever been." and handed them out to students on campus. The incredible thing isn't that we handed out these nails, but the response we got from the students and that we handed them out in only a few hours.

We stood at the entrance to the metro stop on campus, a normal place to be handed an advertisement on a quartersheet in Spain, but today was different for these students. Normally when students are handed an ad, they take it politely, glance down as they walk away to see if it has any relevance to them what so ever, and then throw it away in the nearest garbage, usually 15 ft. away in plain sight of the person who handed it to them.

Today was different. Students would take it like usual, but when they realized they took a nail, they would stop dead in their tracks, and show all of their friends around them who didn't take one. Then they would all read it together and talk about what they thought it meant, or why we would give them a nail. Several girls came running back up the stairs to me and asked me if this was about Jesus. I joyfully smiled back and said, "Of Course!" They asked if they could have 5 more to give to their friends.

I live in a country where spiritual conversations are a rarity, and discussion about Jesus is a joy we treasure in our hearts. Today, every other person who entered or left the metro was thinking about Jesus or even talking with their friends about Him. Who knew what an impact a nail could have on the university students of Madrid Spain? Jesus did. I am sure it that went through his mind when he allowed that Roman guard to pierce his hands and feet with one, and he ached that every student here would know just how much he cares for them. Oh, that all of our hearts would ache for those around us who don't know Him like He does.

Prayer Letters

2006-03-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Hey, found a way to post our prayer letters on the Blog! If you look to the right there are links to the past four prayer letters. When I finish writing this month's I will send it off to you, but also post it here!

Patience...It really is a virtue!

2006-03-28T05:11:00.000-07:00

So It has been almost a month since I walked around outside. I have of course hobbled to the kitchen and back to my spot on the couch. We don't have a Cable, or even a TV for that matter, so I have been doing a lot of reading. Something I read in Piper's Future Grace, that my good friend Mike brought out for me is that Patience is a good thing, a Godly thing, and that Impatience is really, at it's root, Pride. Impatience is Pride?

Yea, I was shocked too! Impatience is saying to God that my plan of getting there on time is better than yours plan to delay me... or in other words, "I don't trust you will use my time with my best interests in mind." Piper talks about how Israel was so excited when a pagan King allowed them to come back and start work on the temple. They got to work and started to see opposition to the task. The Israelites were stopped, but not because God's plan was thwarted, but because he had a better plan than they could understand. The project was stopped for a while when a new King took over and made them wait. They were probably frustrated that they couldn't Glorify God the way they wanted to by re-building his Temple, but God really wanted to be glorified by their faith!

I am understanding more and more how Faith is the most important thing to God. If the Israelites would just trust God that he is in control still, not some pagan king, then they wouldn't mind waiting because they could see what was coming next. This pagan king reviewed the original letter to allow the Israelites to return to Jerusalem and was so overcome that he decided to fund the rest of the building of the temple. God's plan was to bless the Israelites by providing the funds for them so they wouldn't have to pay for it out of their own pockets.

So are we willing to be patient to let God bless us? How many times have I complained about being in traffic, or about always seeming to be in the line at the store that moves slower than all the others? Do I really have the strength to be patient?

If I were building a house, or say a Church for God...or even say a movement on a University Campus in Madrid Spain, would I be willing to trust God if the building project was forced to stop for a time? Is it possible that God just wants us to have Faith, and trust that, yea...last time I checked, He is still in control, and that He's not shocked or caught off guard that my knee is keeping me off campus for a time. I can trust that He is using this not only for His glory, but my benefit!

How has God been blessing me through this!? Well if you know me very well, you would know I don't really like to read...or at least I didn't before this injury. It would have been a miracle that I would even have picked up the book Future Grace, let alone get half way through the 400 pg. book in a 2 weeks. God has also given me a renewed heart for prayer! I figure that if I can't be on campus, I can at least pray for those who are!

God is faithful, He is in control, the least we can do is be patient!

Granaaa

2006-03-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

So aparently in the South of Spain you aren't expected to pronounce all of the sylables in any given word. For instance, the name of the city we are in right now is Granada, but they don't say Granada, they just get through the first two sylables and mumble through the third. And this is accepted and even expected. It makes it quite difficult to understand what anyone is saying, especially when you struggle to understand perfectly spoken Spanish.

Also life in Granada is far more laid back than in Madrid. They walk about half as quickly as we are used to and take forever to finish a meal. This is usually due to the fact that you get a free "Tapa", a spanish appetizer with every drink, so after they finish dinner, with every drink they order, they get another meal. The feasting never ends. But at least they get to walk off the calories because they walk everywhere, albeit at half speed.

Yesterday Shannon and I tried to get with the program down here and we walked 3 miles through the Alhambra, a Castle/Palace here in Granada. Probably not the best idea on crutches, as my leg rarely touched the ground, but my hands are still bruised from the hard plastic handles. So today I am updating this from the house of a friend of ours here, resting my knee and my hands, so that again I can push the limits and go Bowling tonight!

Back on my Butt

2006-03-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

You might be wondering why I am updating our Blog so often (or at least often for me), and maybe you're not since you probably already read the title for today. I am back on my butt. It seems that while my good friend Mike was here, I pushed myself a little too hard and for too long and now, I am back to not moving my knee at all. And you see, this is all a result of poor health care.
You see, in Spain, health care is socialized, but only for residents, so I ended up going to a Private Clinic and talking in English to a guy who doesn't really speak well. He tells me I sprained a ligament in my knee and I am not supposed to work or walk and definitely can't exercise for 3 weeks. Now he never told me what I AM supposed to do for it. He didn't say keep it straight, or conversely to keep it bent. He didn't say ice it or elevate it, or stretch it or but a brace or a splint on it to keep it from moving. He just gave me a prescription for some anti-inflammatories and sent me on my way. ......Hmm, was it really that different from what would have happened back in the states?

Return to the scene of the crime

2006-03-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well, Yesterday our good friend Mike flew out for a few days to visit with us and travel a bit. I am starting to hobble around on crutches so today I made my first visit back to campus. Mike, Shannon, Chip (The other male leader on our team) and I stared at the little green foothold about six inches from the ground. How sad that I wasn't even a foot off the ground when I hurt my knee. That little nub of a foothold cost me quite a bit of pain and frustration, yet it was all I could do but to get back on the wall with my bum knee. It helped that Shannon swore that she would beat me over the head with my crutch if I even attempted to put a hand on the wall and possible prolong my recovery. It has been a week since I have been able to walk and it seems like it could be just two more weeks until I am able to walk normally, and who knows how soon I could get to climb again. I think that tomorrow on our day off we are going to try to have me hobble around "El Escorial" a nearby city with a Palace/ Monastery and lots of other fun stuff. We'll see if I survive.

Blessings and Struggles

2006-03-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

It has been a good semester for us so far. Shannon has been training and discipline the women on our team and I have taken up a new area of ministry reaching out to the community of rock climbers on the rock wall in the Sports complex on campus. My friend Chip and I have had great success and have even found what we call a "Person of Goodwill!"

A "Person of Goodwill" is someone who isn't a Christian, but is still a huge help to your ministry. He is usually somewhat interested in what you are doing and believes that it is a good thing, but doesn't really fell like they need it themselves. They are also a person of reputation. They are known by a lot of people and they also have a large group of friends whom they introduce you to. They are the gateway to ministering to their entire social sphere of incfuence.

The Student's name is Ivan, and he is a Spaniard who spends most of his time at the rock wall Climbing and helping others learn how to climb. We met him just about a month ago, and already we have met some 10-15 climbers that he climbs with. Ivan is a person of goodwill because he is an incredible climber and a great person as well. He is professional climber and is sponsored by Five Ten (a top of the line climbing company), North Face and Prana (a climbing clothing company).

The real reason he has been such a great help to us is that he (and we can't understand why) really likes us. Ever since we met him he has taken us under his wing, teaching us new moves and helping us to get to know the people around him. Ivan is not a Christian, and like the rest of his friends, I believe the rock is his god. He knows we are Christian Missionaries, and unlike everyone else, that didn't scare him away. We are praying very hard that Ivan would place his faith in Christ! We also know that if that did happen, the rest of his huge sphere of influence would as well because they respect him so much!

So this has been just one of the many ways that God is totally blessing us and the ministry this past month. But there has also been some struggles.

Last week while Chip and I were climbing and trying new moves I heard a POP in my knee and felt a sharp pain. It seems that I have either partially torn or sprained a ligament in my right knee. This has effectively ended my climbing for at least a month and had left me unable to do a whole lot of anything but sit around the house and rest and ice my knee. Please be praying that God would give me understanding as to why this happened just when ministry started to kick into gear on the wall, and what he wants for me and from me this next month as I won't be doing much. Pray that God will use it to His Glory, that maybe this would help me to talk to the guys on the wall about my trust and faith in Christ through this injury, and allow me the opportunity to tell them about how the could know Jesus too!

Time

2006-02-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

It seems like no matter how many times I tell Shannon that I really want to do something (for instance make a new post on this blog) I never seem to have the time to do it all. Today is a "get all the stuff done day" in the Williams household which means I spend all day on the computer doing "stuff" and Shannon does what seems like far more important things like getting valentines out to give our team tomorrow morning.

Why is it that we spend so much time doing what we need to do, and hardly enough time doing what we really want to do! I realize now that I have lost so much time not keeping in touch with my really close friends back home in the states and I am beginning to miss them. It's not that I don't care, it just seems that there's never enough time, and I must learn to make time.

Can time really be made? Or do I just push something else to the back burner for a while? I think I am finally learning that I won't ever get to do all the things I need, and want and hate and must do, so I must let some things fall through the crack to get to the things that are truly important. I think I will be done with this and mov

Buon Giorno

2006-01-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hotels in Venice, Rome and Florence = Too Much Money
Trains to and from each city = Too Much Money
Food at Italian restraunts in touristy towns = Too Much Money

A full week discovering Italy with your wife = PRICELESS

Yes, this past week Shannon and I have been traveling through Italy together and have had a great time discovering the beautiful cities of Rome, Venice and Florence. We spent two full days in Rome and a day and a half in venice and florence. We feel so priviledged to be able to live so close to Italy to be able to get relatively inexpensive tickets and then to have family help us to afford it while we were there!

The Grand Canal Venice

Gondolas outside St. Marks Square

St. Mark's Square

Christmas was great as well. We bought a 7 foot fake tree down the street for only 20 Euro and we celebrated together Christmas eve night and then with the whole team on chritsmas morning and day. New years eve was spent eating at a nice italian restraunt in Rome and then we watched the fireworks at midnight from our hotel as we had to be up at 6 to catch a plane home to Madrid.

My Dad comes on the 2nd and we are excited to have our first "tourist" come out to show around Madrid!

Overall sentiments over these past weeks... God is SO Good!

3 Months In

2005-12-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since I started this Blog. I know it doesn't look Pretty, but then again, life here in Madrid hasn't left much time to make it pretty. God is moving, and I am starting to see that He really does know what he's doing!

I am beginning to see that leading isn't about me! I am starting to understand that sometimes leading means that ministry comes second or third, or maybe my ministry isn't as much to the students as it is to my team. I love my team and I want to see them grow and trust God to move as they do ministry. I want them to have faith that stretches them. Maybe I will understand just why God brought me to Spain when I see where the lives of those I lead will go. Maybe that is how success is defined for a leader.

We leave in 9 Days!

2005-08-26T10:35:00.000-06:00

Hey, I finally figured out how to use this site! We leave soon for Spain and we are excited to have you partnering with us!