One Year Ago...

we were waiting with anticipation for Abby to arrive. Its hard to believe that its been almost a year since our little girl was born. At this same time last year, our students were packing up to head East to Boston for the annual Boston Winter Conference. We usually go, but last year was an exception. This year isn't...

Tomorrow, we pack our car and head to Boston. We are so excited to return to one of our favorite events of the school year! From January 1-5, 360 students from throughout the Northeast will converge on a hotel for four days of worship through music, speakers, seminars, an opportunity to go out into Boston and share Jesus with others and lots of great time with friends! Many memories are made at these conferences! Five students that Jen and I invest in will be attending this year (and many more from the Capital Region). God even redirected a student's plans when her flight to Spain was cancelled...

For a few years now, Caroline has always talked about wanting to go to the BWC. However, one thing has always held her back...her family's annual trip to Spain. This year was no different. She was all set and ready to go until the winter storm rocked the upper east coast. Her flight to Spain was canceled and her parent's didn't want to pay for another flight. She called us up a few nights ago and said, "I think God has made it clear that he wants me to go to Boston this year. If he has to cancel a flight in order for me to get there, it makes me think he has something big for me." We can only imagine! Please pray...

• For safe travels to and from Boston
• Open hearts to receive what God has for each student and staff
• Great times of fellowship with each other
• That Jen and I would honor God with our roles. I will be one of the program directors and Jen is the PR Coordinator (and a great mom)
  
• Students would take what they learn at BWC and bring it back to their campuses and communities

We'll update you shortly after we get back. Until then...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Looking Back...

2010 is nearing an end! Students are home and the campus is empty. I was there for a basketball game yesterday. It sure is quiet! I want to take a look back with you at what we saw God do this semester. Fall semester 2010...

• A great kick-off at UAlbany with 144 freshman indicat ing they wanted to talk more about God and their purpose in life
• Students trusted Christ as a result of that survey and conversations that followed
• Great relations with the UAlbany Football Team
• 10 students consistently coming to Siena small group on Friday nights
• A study on Christ-centered community at Siena that helped propel them forward
• 24 Capital Region students coming to the Fall Getaway
• A new believer at Siena started to take great ownership of parts of the movement at Siena
• A combined small group started at UAlbany, with 10 students consistently coming
• Jen and I had the opportunity to disciple 7 students and got to see them grow and trust God in many ways!
• Senior at UAlbany- Chad- trusts Christ for the first time!
• 11 players come out to the first women's basketball chapel
• And so much more!....

The semester in photos...

Capital Region Crew at Fall Getaway

Siena students at the UAlbany Football Game



City-Wide Meeting

Capital Region Christmas Party!

We are excited to celebrate Christmas in a few days! We are spending time with family at various locations. Its a great time to celebrate Jesus and new life that comes through knowing Him! Thank you for being a part of a great movement at UAlbany, Siena and other campuses throughout the Capital Region! We are grateful to have you be such a great part of our lives!

Merry Christmas!

A New Season for the Lady Danes!

I am excited to share that once again, I (Joe) will be spending time with the UAlbany Women's Basketball team before home games. We will be having on going discussions about God's purpose for their lives. We had our first time yesterday...

I was invited to their pre-game meal by the coaching staff. Arriving before the team got there, I had time to sit there and pray. I remembered God's faithfulness from last year. We had somewhere between three and eight women at small group times. Interest was high! This year, there is a new coaching staff. What is it going to be like? Are women going to come this year? Will this "chapel time" be received well? These are all questions that went through my mind. No matter what, God knows what He is doing!

I got to eat with the team. Then shared a little bit about what our times will be about for new players. I invited anyone interested to come to the other side of the room, so we could start our time together. I nearly hit the roof when 11 women came and formed a circle. What an answer to prayer! God is doing great things! We spent the next twenty minutes discussing the Christmas story- from Mary's perspective. We talked about being a servant, security and strength that comes from the Lord. Please pray that they would continue to come and be open to all that God has for them!

Whats it like to teach your professor?

That was the question I asked one of our students last night at our City-Wide meeting at RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). I don't spend much time at this school, so it was good to talk to some students and hear how God is moving in their lives and campus. One student was sharing about his fraternity and how his academic advisor for the fraternity is also a science teacher at the school. Prompted by seeing that this student is a chaplain for the house and involved with Campus Crusade at RPI, the professor approached the student. He shared about how even though he teaches evolution, there are parts that just don't make sense. The professor expressed interest in meeting with this student and talking more about God. So, for the past few weeks, they have been meeting together once a week and discussing creation and the creator. When asked what it was like to teach his professor, he said it was really weird, but really cool. God does weird, but cool things...things that sometimes just can't be explained. Please pray for the student and professor at RPI as God continues to use this student to show the professor the truth.

Untying the Rope

While walking through the campus center with one of the students involved in the movement at UAlbany, we noticed Chad sitting by himself. We were looking for people to engage in spiritual conversations, so we stopped and asked if he would want to take a picture spiritual interest questionnaire (also called Soularium). We sat down and went through the first few questions, which helped to get to know him better. He shared that he was in a place in life where he just felt confused and that there were a ton of things on his mind. He then shared how he just wanted to be at peace, but wasn't sure how that could happen. When we asked him about who he thought God was, he picked a picture of a sunset. He shared that even when it seems dark, God shines through. The student with me asked him if he was in a dark place and he shared that he was. So, we asked him to pick a picture that best described his spiritual journey so far. He picked a picture of a rope tied up in a sailor's knot. He shared that at times it can be straight (like the end of the knot), but mostly its tied up and confusing. He talked about how there are so many religions and everyone is trying to do their own thing. I asked, "do you think that is because people are separated from God and making up their own way?" He answered yes. This led into a great conversation about the Gospel. At the end, we asked Chad if He wanted God to "take the knot and make it straight" by beginning a relationship with Jesus. He said yes. So, together we prayed and Chad invited Jesus to be Lord and Savior of his life. We continued to talk and invite him to the small group that meets on Tuesday nights. Please pray for him as he begins this new life with Jesus!

The Blog World

It seems like the blog world is becoming more and more popular these days. Between being a "blog follower" and Google reader, there are plenty of ways to keep track of all those posts that come in from multiple blogs. So, in order to take one more e-mail out of your inbox and one less e-mail I have to send, I am no longer going to send e-mails that tell you when our blog has been updated. So, please become a follower of the blog, bookmark it, add it to your favorites or add it to your google reader. If you are confused by these terms, let me know and I will share what limited technological knowledge I have with you. Thanks for continuing to read and partner with us in ministry!

Remembering Kim!

Some of you were on my ministry team before the days of being married to Jen, back in Syracuse, while an intern with Campus Crusade for Christ. It seems like ages ago! I want to give you an update on one of the students we invested in at Cazenovia College. You might remember Kim. She was huge in starting a movement at that small school in the small town of Cazenovia, NY. She poured a lot of energy into giving students an opportunity to know Jesus. During her summers, she spent her days on inner-city summer projects in Seattle, WA. God continued to grow her heart for the inner-city. She took a huge step of faith and committed her life to serving the Lord through Here's Life (which is the inner-city ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ). Here is a little bit about the ministry she is involved with (taken from her last newsletter):

Now that school is in full swing both of the after school programs that I work with
have started up as well. The first program I work with is CryOut!, a teen drop-in
center, that allows the teens to hang out, play video games, get some help with
homework and build relationships with Christians who truly care about them. This
program is actually working to be more involved with these lives of these young
adults and will soon begin offering workshops for them to learn skills such as web
development and give them jobs and responsibility at the program such as
running the snack stand.

The second site I work at is an after school program for K-6th grade students
located in White Center which is a section of Seattle. I have worked with this
program on my various trips out here over the past 3 years and I absolutely
love the children and staff that work at the program. The children come from
4-6 and have time to play, eat a snack, work on their homework, and learn
about how Jesus loves them through a memory verse, stories, skits, and
interacting with the staff and volunteers. I mainly work with the 2nd grade
girls and they are a fantastic group.

By God's grace, lives are being changed in Seattle, WA because Kim learned to follow God's will for her life in college. Thanks for continuing to partner in ministry, so that students like Kim can not only impact their campus, but the world!