November 7th

Sorry that I haven't updated my prayer blog lately. It has been several weeks, and I have been meaning to do it every two weeks. I will try to be more regular.

Here are some requests:

1. This weekend we have a big trip to build houses in Mexico. It is an important trip because there will be many non-Christian friends of ours coming along. Also, it is a chance for our students to experience another culture.
--Pray for all the details, that they would wrap themselves up well
--Pray for our non-Christian friends that are coming, that they would experience the love of Jesus.

2. Our ministry is experiencing some growing pains. Would you pray for unity amongst our students, and also for wisdom for the staff team as we ponder some changes?

3. On a personal note, my girlfriend broke up with me this past weekend. Would you pray for my heart, for healing, and also for strength during these next few busy days?

October 10th

Jonathan "Louisville" Stewart is a freshman. I have written about hims a couple times before, but we have been meeting together for about a month and I am encouraged by his eagerness to grow. Here is a picture of Jon:



Jon and another student in our ministry, Tyler, have become great friends. One of our prayers as a staff team is that we would have a strong freshmen class that is very unified. So far, we have a lot of freshmen, but they are not yet very unified. I have been praying that Jon and Tyler would become leaders within the freshmen class.

Here some requests:

1. Blessing for the time I spend with Jon.

2. For Tyler and Jon's friendship, that they would encourage each other and grow together.

3. For our freshmen class, that they would continue to grow in unity and passion for sharing their lives with the lost.

September 26th

God is good, wise, and powerful.

1. Would you pray for me? Being in ministry for the first time is a challenging experience, and it seems like lately all of my issues are sort of drifting up to the surface--fears, insecurities, etc. Pray that I would be open and share with my staff team all of my struggles.

2. I met a student named Jonathan early in the year. It has been exciting to continue to meet with him and get to know him better lately. We have been going over some passages from the Bible lately on the importance of intimacy with God. He has several non-Christian friends on his hall that he is trying to reach out to. Would you pray for Jonathan, or "Louisville" as we call him, and his friends Rick and Tyler?

3. I am heading off to Tuscaloosa, Alabama next Wednesday (Oct. 3rd) to visit my girlfriend. Would you pray for that trip?

September 19th

Praise God for his goodness and his mercy! I am grateful for my friends and family.

Every Thursday night, I have been hanging out with a group of guys from a dormitory on campus called Manzanita. This is the dorm that I lived at during my first year at the University of Arizona, and also a dorm where I had several contacts last year.

Two of these guys profess Christ...but neither of them are living very well. Both drink and party on the weekend and show little evidence of the the Lordship of Jesus in their lives. But they are both very interested in reading the Bible, and even having other non-Christian kids on their hall come along as well.

One of these guys is the president of a new fraternity on campus called Sigma Chi. This frat is one of the oldest and most established in the country, but was kicked off of our campus several years ago because of hazing problems. This guy has been working hard and recruiting hard to re-establish the frat and get a pledge class of over 25 guys.

Would you pray for Duo? He is a man of influence and seems open to the gospel. Working with him will give me access to the entire fraternity.

Other students that I have met that might be interested in reading the Bible are Bobby, Casey, Dane, and Matt. Would you be praying for my Thursday nights, that God would bless my efforts and show mercy to these guys?

September 12th

Some crazy things have been happening at the University of Arizona.

1. On our camping trip, one of the cars got into an accident, and two of our students were seriously injured. Although both have no permanent damage, it was a scary incident. One of them was one of my best friends and a former roommate, Rich Redel. Pray for a speedy recovery for Rich and Erin.

2. In an incident that made national news, a student in one of the dormitories was stabbed to death by her roommate, apparently upset by some allegations of stealing. Both girls were of Navajo descent, and the killer had actually filled out one of our surveys. Krista, one of our staff girls, had followed up the survey; the girl, Galareekah, and come and hung out with us for a night. Because of this, Krista and Bryce had the opportunity to visit the girl in jail and share the gospel with her. Pray for Galareekah.

It seems that Satan is not happy with what God is doing at the University of Arizona, and is strongly opposing it. This is both an encouraging sign (because it means God is moving here) and a warning. The students here and our whole staff team need protective prayer!

3. My Bible study is up and running with about seven or so students coming each week. This study is for students with Christian background. Here are some requests I have regarding the study.
-For Danny, my co-leader, as he leads a Bible study for the first time
-That the guys in the study would bond as a team
-For each one of the guys...Jonathan, Kyle, Jose, Richie, Adam, Colton, Justin

August 29th

Praises:

1. God seems to have given a large freshmen class of guys, something we had been praying for all summer!

2. We had our first NavNight on Friday, attended by over 100 people. I had to think of my first NavNight three years ago, right after I transferred to Arizona. That year, we had about 20 people at the first NavNight. God has blessed our ministry through growth, but has allowed to retain a real community feel.

3. My first Bible study was Monday night, attended by six guys. All of us were cramped into a tiny dormroom. All the guys seemed excited and eager to grow!

Requests:

1. For retention of the guys that we have. Pray that they will get plugged in with the older students and with each other.

2. That the freshmen class as a whole will bond together.

3. Tomorrow night (Aug. 30th) I will be hanging with a sophomore kid who might be interested in putting together a non-Christian Bible study for this semester.

4. Pray for wisdom in the way I invest my time. I am still new to this, and trying to figure out how best to use the time I have!

August 22nd

School is up and running! By Sunday, the dorms were filled, and the first day of classes was Monday. So now we have 40,000 undergrads walking around the unbearably hot campus (yesterday was around 105!).

It is neat to see God already answering some prayer requests...so far we have had around 60 men express interest in Bible studies! Likely the number who actually get involved will be smaller, but if even half of them get plugged in, we will have 10 students in each of our three Bible studies.

I am leading a freshmen study with a friend of mine named Daniel De La Huerta.



Daniel and I enjoying a lighter moment during our last Spring Break trip.

Prayer requests:

1. For protection for our staff team. God is moving at the University of Arizona, and the Enemy is not happy about it!

2. For the freshmen guys. We will be continuing to follow them up throughout the rest of this week. Our prayers have been for 8 guys in each study, but God can do immeasurably more than that!

3. For rest and refreshment--we are working really hard right now, and it gets exhausting.

August 15th

Today is the first day of the beginning of the school year!!!!!!!1


Basically, the next three weeks are going to be crazy. This is planting season, and the most important time of the year. Students start relationships at the beginning of their freshman year that will influence the rest of their time in college.

Pray for...

1. Endurance and Perseverance during these busy days.
2. Good contact with freshmen--especially the guys.
3. I am a bit of an introvert, and meeting lots of new people is stressful for me. Pray for energy and joy, and confidence in meeting new friends.


Above all, pray that God would be glorified by our actions on campus, and that he would use our best efforts to bring many men to faith in Christ!

August 1st

We are now entering the last week of fund-raising; on the 8th our staff meetings start. Here are some prayer requests to keep in mind for the last few days of the summer.

1. For the funding of everyone on my team. It would be encouraging if we were all at 100%. The staff team at the University of Arizona is The Bouchards, The Barbieris, Krista Morrison, Lori Bowman, Dustin Butler, Robin Klapheke, and Diana Ro.

2. Pray for the returning students:
--That they will be excited to help recruit students
--For an eagerness to grow

3. Here is a good one. I have a girlfriend now. Her name is Caitlin Kochanasz, and she is on staff with the Navigators at the University of Alabama.
--Pray for good communication.
--Pray for the health of our relationship.
--Pray for her funding.

Here is a picture of her, so that you can put a face to your prayers:

July 18th

This fall we will have ten people on our staff team. Four of these people will be new, including myself. But only Diana and Robin will be completely new. Robin is a Penn State graduate, who has never been to Arizona. Same story with Diana, who came from University of Virginia. We are scheduled to start on August 8th, and the first week will be time for us to get to know each other as a staff team. This is especially important for Diana and Robin, to help them acclimate to Arizona, and to ensure that they feel like a part of the family here.

Because of funding concerns, in order to be here, they both have to have raised at least 75% of their budgets. It would be very difficult for them if they were unable to be here on the date we begin. This is an urgent request...would keep both of them in your prayers? Here is are pictures of them:


Robin Diana

They are very cool girls.

Other team-related prayer requests:

-Unity of vision
-Submission to leadership
-Strong friendships
-Willingness to confront problems

July 11th, 2007

Praises!

1. I am at 57% of my budget. I am so thankful that God has been bringing in my support so faithfully.

2. My car is as good as new.

Requests:

1. Here is a picture of my team.


Their names, from left to right are:

Dustin "Smoosh" Butler
Robin Klapheke
Diana Ro

All of us are recent graduates, and are entering full-time ministry for the first time. Would you pray the following things for the four of us as we prepare for our starting date at the University of Arizona?

A. Full funding by August 8th
B. Unity and friendship
C. Courage and faith

2. Here is a picture of Cochise Hall:








I have been walking around this dormitory about four times a week and praying for it. A close friend of mine will be living here next year, and I hope to spend a lot of time reaching out to the students that live here. Here are some of my big requests for this place. Will you join me in praying them a couple times a week?

A. That every student in this dorm will hear the gospel before the year is over.
B. That God will raise up five students in this dorm who will change the course of my generation. (that's a big one)
C. That Satan will have no voice or presence here.

You are welcome to add any others big requests you have to this.

Fund-raising Post 1

This is what I am going to do with my prayer blog. I will be updating it once weekly, on Wednesdays. The format will be roughly the same. So watch next Wednesday for my first real post.

Meanwhile, some requests...

1. Courage in making difficult calls
2. For Cochise Hall
3. That I will be faithful in getting done what needs to be done.
4. For open doors and receptive hearts.