We had an amazing time up in Seattle and Bellingham for our yearly trip to the Student Institute of Campus Ministry (SICM). I feel like a broken record saying it was our biggest group ever, but it was--by more than 30 students, even as we get more restrictive in our invitations. This number is one of the biggest metrics that I watch because of what it means for producing leaders for the coming years. As a pastoral staff, we only invite students if we think they can lead a core (one of our small discipleship groups) in the coming year. This year 150 students went in May and another few will be going to June SICM! I use the trip as a chance to build relationships with the next generation of leaders at UTD. You would be so encouraged to watch these students worship God, love on each other, and talk to random people on the campuses up there.
One quick story--while we were still in Seattle, an older man in the hotel we were staying in sought me out. I was worried it might be a noise complaint! But quite the opposite. One of our UTD students had met him, heard about his life, and prayed for him and his sick grandson on the spot. He told me that he wept during the prayer for the first time in years, that God's Spirit gave this student the words to pray. And then he gave a donation for our trip. I was so touched to know that when we showed up, the presence of Jesus showed up and started blessing people! This is the kind of thing the Lord is doing through your prayers and generosity. Here are a few pictures to sum up the trip:
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| Over 180 of us went, including the pastors! |
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| Some UTD guys who I went hiking with outside of Seattle. I beat them up the mountain, but my knees couldn't keep up with them going down! |
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| Brad Davis came with us again for the first time in many years. He cooked all week for 14 men in our Airbnb. The food was amazing, and it gave me more time to focus on the students. When Brad and I came to SICM for the first time, we got in a fight over him wanting to bring a purple starfish home with him, so here he is threatening to get one just to mess with me. |
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| One great thing about being in Bellingham each year is that we are close to Vancouver, BC, where some of our favorite seminary professors live. A few of us got coffee with Iain Provan. We also got lunch with Rikk Watts but forgot to take a picture! |
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| This was the house of guys Peter and I stayed with this year. Eleven future men leaders at UTD. The future is bright! |
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| On the family front, Sarah got to go whale watching. |
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| While we were in Seattle, a group of over 50 students went to a Mariners game. Pretty cool seeing our name on the jumbotron! |
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| Unrelated to SICM, a dear friend and FOCUS alumnus Brandon Seitzler dropped by the Grove on night at the end of the school year with his sweet kids. They just happened to be walking by on campus! |
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| Another baptism pic from the end of the school year! This young lady was with us at SICM, and I can't wait to see how the Lord works in and through her. |
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| The prayer request seems out of date, but we have more students going to SICM in June! |
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