"We are not guaranteed tomorrow..."

Our big conference for November was held on the second weekend in Minneapolis. We saw over 300 juniors and seniors attend from all over the Upper Midwest region to hear about eternal perspective and how to make Godly decisions about their future as they approach graduation. This professional conference prepares students for life after college. Whether God calls these students to be teachers, engineers, farmers, lawyers, or vocational ministers...we want these students to know that their first calling is to love and serve God. We challenge them to be a witness of the Gospel and to build God's kingdom no matter what they do for a day job!

Life Options is close to our hearts because it is during a Life Options Conference our senior year at ISU that we clearly heard the Lord's calling on our life. A couple weeks before the conference, we had an amazing opportunity come up to buy a dairy farm in Hawaii. Tony had a double major in Animal Science and Dairy Science and when this opportunity came up for this farm, it was a dream come true! We had booked tickets and connected with the owner of the farm and planned on flying out the week after our Life Options conference. During the conference, we clearly heard the Lord calling us to join staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. We were excited to hear so clearly from the Lord, but also disappointed as we really wanted this farm to be our calling! The farm would have been a great fit for us and was doing so well (it had a contract with Meadow Gold Ice Cream) that we could have retired in 10 years and then went into the mission field. But, during the conference the speaker said something that we just couldn't get out of our heads...he said, "You are not guaranteed tomorrow, so do not put off something that you should do today for another time." We did fly to Hawaii and check out the farm (it was wonderful and a perfect fit for us), but the whole time we were there, we just kept hearing those words..."you are not guaranteed tomorrow." So, we passed on the farm and said yes to the Lord. It has been 11 years since that decision and the road has not been easy, but we can look back on it and know that we were obedient to the Lord and to his calling...and, we still live by the motto that we are not guaranteed tomorrow!

International Justice Mission

We were privileged to spend the last week of October bringing awareness of social injustice to Iowa State. We partnered with International Justice Mission (a national partner of CRU) in raising awareness and funds for human trafficking. We wanted to raise awareness for this problem, share our faith, and give people the opportunity to take action. As part of this week, we showed the film "Sex and Money,'" that highlights the huge problem of sex slavery and prostitution in the United States. We used this film to encourage people to write to members of Congress from Iowa and to contribute financially to IJM's cause. The International Justice Mission is an incredible organization that brings rescue to victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and other forms of violent oppression.  U.S. News and World Report highlighted IJM as one of 10 non-profits "making a difference". To learn more about International Justice Mission or how you can be involved with this wonderful organization, visit www.ijm.org.

Fall Retreat

We had such a wonderful time at Fall Retreat and the weather was perfect! The kids truly love this conference and look forward to it every year! Below is a picture of our speaker, Gary Schmalz (former ISU director of CRU) sharing with the students about boldly living out your faith! It was so encouraging to hear from him and we had a handful of students indicate that they made first time decisions to put their faith in Christ this weekend! 

On the last day, we sat in a circle (pictured below) and opened the floor up for students to share how God had spoken to them this weekend. Here are few things that they shared:

"I am challenged to take the 30 day challenge to start each day off with God and to start my day focused on God and not to let myself get distracted by everything else going on." --Jenny

"Apparently I've gained a heart for people...I was just planning on graduating and getting a job, but now I can't think of anything better to do for the next 2 years than serving the Lord with CRU." --Darin

"Hearing about great men who have walked with God and hearing how a simple act of submission in the morning can have such an effect...I am choosing to surrender to God in the morning and throughout the day." --Matthew

"This weekend made me start wanting to move forward with being more involved with God's plan at ISU. We need to take steps to move it forward...it won't move itself forward." --Nick

We feel so privileged that God has chosen us to be here at this place and at this time! We love working with the students at Iowa State and we can't wait to see what more He has in store for us!