Hello, 2009!

Happy New Year!
Perhaps one of our New Year's resolutions should be to manage our blog with more frequency. We promise we'll try!
Spring semester here at KU begins on January 15th, and we will reunite with our student leaders on the 14th for an all-day prayer retreat. Jason will be encouraging them in the Navigator vision: "To advance the gospel of Jesus and his kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling among the lost." What a great template to pray from!

Below are some pictures of the end of our fall semester. Our annual fall outreach event, "Barn Bash" was a huge hit as we maxed out the capacity of our venue, the Circle S Ranch. It is an evening of chili, cinnamon rolls, student testimonies, games, costume contests, and of course line dancing to a live band and caller! It is a hit with the students and well worth the effort. (I even cooked a big batch of chili with 5 pounds of ground beef-not bad for a "quasi" vegetarian!)




A few days before finals began we hosted a Christmas party for our Greek Freshman Connection students at our house, complete with cookie decorating, games, and a reading of the Christmas story. There were even a few decorated cookies left over which we were able to share with our neighbors.

After finals, we made a whirlwhind trip to Texas where Jason was a groomsmen in a college friend's wedding. From there we drove to San Antonio where we were able to see a few friends including the Carruths, who are the pastors of the Refugio da Graca, the Brasilian church I visited on a mission trip in 2006. They are from San Antonio originally and on furlough for a few months. What great timing! It was so wonderful to be reunited with them and a few other friends from Brasil traveling with them!

We are thankful for the ways God moved in the fall and are eager to begin this spring semester trusting him for big things. Thank you for your love and support!

Hail to the Hawks!

This was the theme of the 2008 Homecoming week for KU this fall. We were able to enjoy some of the festivities before the big game, which included the Homecoming parade. Some of our students worked hard pomping the floats (aka, lots of tissue paper.) We met up with some of our students, and Kelley is pictured below with Emily, one of our seniors. KU has two mascots, Big Jay and Baby Jay, and they are pictured below as they made their way along the parade route. Since we both have "purple" backgrounds from K-State, we are enjoying being open-minded and learning about KU culture and traditions. After all, we are told to become "all things to all men"!

"30 is the new 20"

This is what one of Jason's birthday cards said and we've had a few good laughs over it! Today Jason celebrates his 30th birthday, and on Saturday Laura and I threw Jason and Kevin a surprise birthday party with friends and family. (For those who may not know, Jason has a twin brother, Kevin, and the below picture is of Laura, his wife, Kevin, Jason, and myself.) Jason and Kevin both enjoy off-road motorcycling, so a very talented friend made a fabulous cake for them complete with a motorcycle jumping out of it!





Our last posting mentioned our Fall Conference, The Main Event, which was held in Omaha on October 10-12. We had over 50 students from KU and over 800 from around the region in attendance! The photo below is of some of the KU crew at one the large group meetings held at the Creighton University student center. Jason and I were able to give a workshop on "prayer tools", and it was our first time presenting a workshop together. We had a great time and met some neat students from around the region. (Ask Jason to make his sound effect for "prayer triggers" the next time you see him!)



Thank you all for standing with us! We are thankful for you!

Hard times and good times...

On September 19th, 2008, Jason's grandfather went on to be with the Lord. Less than 2 weeks later, on October 1st, 2008, Jason's grandmother went on to be with the Lord also. Times like these draw family closer together and cause us all to lean more heavily upon God (photo of Jason's brothers and mother, from left to right: Kelley James & wife Amanda, Donna, Jason & wife Kelley Ann, wife Laura and Kevin).

We are thankful for our grandparents' lives and the legacy they have left us. May it not be in vain!

This weekend, October 10th through the 12th, nearly 1,000 college students from campuses all across the midwest will descend on Omaha, NE for the Navigator's fall conference known as "Main Event". The momentum, energy, and passion for knowing Jesus Christ and making Him known that comes out of this conference has traditionally been outstanding.

Please join us in praying for safe travel and a deep encounter with a very personal God this weekend for all of our students and us as we experience "Main Event" for the first time as a married couple together!

We're thankful to God that He has given us the privilege of knowing Him in such a real and personal way, and allows us to help others do the same!

Beginnings in Blogging 101

Our first posting! We hope to use this blog site to keep all of our family and friends posted on life events, fun experiences, and also our work at the University of Kansas with college students. Thanks for checking out our site, please tune in soon for prayer updates, happenings, and more fun!

With love,
Jason & Kelley