Last day of year/Urbana

It's over, and I have to admit I'm glad. I'm tired, but it's also one of the times when I'm "good tired." I'm glad to have connected with dozens of young men and women who are getting fired up to serve God--wherever and whenever. I think the enemy is taking a real hit this week...we shall see.

This morning, speaker Ajith Fernando finished up the all-week study of Ephesians, talking about that passage which goes over the full armor of God. He brought up an interesting point...that the enemy strikes where you're most vulnerable. If I strengthen in one area and neglect another, guess where the enemy is going to strike next? I want to take this seriously and begin 2007 in a way that honors God, rather than serving my own flesh. How that's going to happen tomorrow, as I wait all day for my plane, I'm not so certain. If you're reading this, I'd appreciate your prayers. I think I'm developing a fever tonight, and I don't wish to pass it on to others.

All for now--thanks for interceding.

Stretched but not forsaken,

Jeremy

2nd to last night

25 hours from right now, Urbana 2006 will come to its end, and I suspect many people will leave here having heard new things from God and excited about their futures working for Him. I think InterVarsity, the event's hosts, made a really good choice to move the event to a large conference center this year. Makes things much simpler, though it's likely more expensive.

Today, Urbana encouraged delegates to fast and pray, and I think many of them did. My organization's leaders, however, encouraged us to eat, so we would have enough strength for the afternoon's work. Glad I followed their advice. My legs are starting to wear down a bit from several hours of standing at a time. Still, it's always a blessing to meet new people who are searching for what God has planned next for them. I never presume to tell them all the answers, but I usually try to connect them with someone else who might help them better. For instance, I've run into 3 or 4 mechanical engineers so far who want to know how their skills might best be used in the Muslim world. I usually hand them off to my friends Carrie or Julie eventually, who have had experiences with Gap teams serving in N. Iraq.

Tonight, I decided to attend the main Urbna session and sit very close to the main stage...very, very loud choice. I enjoyed the worship lots. Even though I was close enough to see the speakers and singers' faces, I still usually looked at the big screen monitors. Heard Rick and Kay Warren address how delegates might best discern their calling...and it seemed really simplistic frankly. I heard nothing about waiting on the Lord, fasting, praying, seeking wise counsel. Instead, what I heard was mostly "Trust your feelings, go with what you enjoy, and look at your past to choose how God might use it. Or "Use common sense." I agree with some of it partially, but it seems like a good prescription for enabling people to stay fat in the U.S., too, rather than calling them to sacrifice what they enjoy for someOne infinitely greater...in my opinion. At the end, Warren talked about how he had gathered his six-service church together for the very first time this year--inside a gigantic stadium. He wanted the Urbana delegates to chant along with him a huge string of promises he'd written for the church (some of the vows(?!) directed to God, I think--what would Jesus say?). I stood up and chanted a little bit of it, but I couldn't keep going long because I knew I would never remember any of it, and I don't want to make empty promises. If I'm going to be judged by the words of my mouth, I need to be careful what I utter. I can't just repeat words on a screen and think God doesn't care if I don't do what I promise.

Overall, I'm enjoying this event...I'm still in much need of prayer on my last day of helping delegates through prayer, listening, and connecting. I praise God that the webcams are working pretty well, and the students seem to be enjoying connecting with folks overseas.

2nd Urbana entry

The last two days of meeting with students at Frontiers’ tent have been fruitful and exciting. At the same time, I’ve been having some more difficulty with back pain…but not unbearable. Standing up for several hours at a time can become quite wearying, but then I’ll meet some college student who has had Muslims on his heart for several years and just wants a little validation of his dream. I love to supply that mixed with prayer whenever possible. Probably my favorite part of the process is finding a Frontiers worker who’s serving alongside me who is doing the type of work the student has been training to do (and wants to know if it will be of any use in the Muslim world). Or I connect them with someone who’s been seving in the country they hope to reach. Either way it’s a success. Today, we got most of the kinks worked out of the webcam system, and more than a dozen students (maybe even 20?) talked with our workers overseas—some of whom stayed up late into the early morning hours for a chance to connect with potential new teammates.


It’s a blessing to be here, but I also feel my body beginning to wear out. I need rest, so I’m going to cut this short a bit.

First Urbana '06 entry

Today, I’m in downtown St. Louis, MO with 38 others from Frontiers – some from as far away as India and Malaysia. We’re getting our booth ready for Urbana ’06, which is attracting more than 21,000 college students and young people (delegates) for 5 days of worship, learning, and seeking out how God would have them bless the nations.

I’ve come here seeking to develop new relationships with people from across America who already feel called to reach Muslims or are just investigating the possibility. Already, I’m seeing God’s mercy at work. About 2.5 weeks ago, my back was in serious pain – to the point that I could barely walk. When I looked in the mirror, it appeared as if my hips were in one side of the room and my torso in the other. By God’s grace and with the help of a brace, I’m feeling well enough to participate.

Another blessing has been that Urbana is, for the first time, being held in a convention center of a major city, rather than a campus hours away from a major airport. This has saved our team so much time and energy. We’re using hotels for the first time as well, and the one I was booked to stay in became overfilled, so Urbana changed things at the last minute. I’m now staying half a block away from our exhibit, rather than half a mile. A huge blessing!

One other item of praise – past Urbana have been so overrun with students that exhibitors like myself were barely ever allowed to participate in the main sessions, where thousands of delegates worship together and learn from God’s Word. Most of the time, for space considerations, we were relegated to a lecture hall or gym, where we could watch what was going on via television. This year is different – we can take part in everything because the main event is taking place on an NFL football field. I’m very excited.

In the summer of 2005, in England, when Frontiers overseas workers and others were discussing what our exhibit should be, I found myself suggesting that we take advantage of the latest technology and allow Urbana delegates to interact live, one-on-one, with Frontiers workers overseas. The idea was accepted. Over the next four days, fourteen field workers from the Muslim world, will be available to answer students’ questions about what life is like in their various fields. We could sure use prayer as we seek to work out technical glitches to make this dream a reality. We’ve also set up a large, authentic Moroccan tent where students can watch a challenging video about the Muslim world and pray.

I’m excited about what God is going to do in the next few days, and I look forward to posting more praise reports and praise requests—maybe some photos, too! Thanks for your partnership through prayer!