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!

Great Dane Community

The year at UAlbany has been far from easy. We had two small groups going on and neither seemed to be really "taking off." We constantly asked God the question, "what is going on?" What we weren't seeing very well was that real, healthy community was lacking with our students. It is such a big school and students live separately from each other. Something God helped us to recognize is that what our UAlbany students need is real, healthy community. Last week, we made the decision to combine both of our groups into one and do a study on Christ-centered community. We had 11 students come last week and it was such a great time together. After the group with officially over, students continued to hang out. One was sharing about her life and started crying because she felt like she was so afraid of failing in her relationship with God and being called a hypocrite by her friends. We got to again remember God's grace and unfailing love together and all left encouraged.

Please pray for this group as they focus on Christ's love together and let it transform their view of relationships- both with God and each other. Pray that it would transform their lives and compel them to reach out to the rest of the campus as well- TOGETHER!

Fall Getaway!

Wildwood 2010 Mini-Reunion

Family picture on Seneca Lake

Football! The annual East vs. West game!

Community building activity

Abby and Olivia- Ready for breakfast!

"I'm ready to roadtrip!"

An Annual Tradition

Its always fun to head back to Long Point Camp on Seneca Lake every year for Fall Getaway. As Jen, Abby and I were walking from the dorm to the dining hall, we figured out that it was our sixth year at Fall Getaway. Jen went for two years as a student, and I as an intern with Syracuse. Then, we went for one year while raising support to move to Albany. We've been taking Albany students with us for two years (this year made three). It really has become an annual tradition for us....and it was a great, restful encouraging time this year as always.

We had 24 students from the Capital Region join us this year. They all made the 3 hour road trip, so that they could spend time with each other in a set apart place from their campus. It was a great weekend! Many students (and staff) said that they haven't heard that clearly from the Lord in a LONG time! The speaker clearly conveyed our need for Jesus- and His deep love for us. Mark challenged us to live in community- to not isolate ourselves. He also said that the good life is spending our life on Christ. We respond to His love for us by living His way- the good way. It was a great weekend and I am thankful for that opportunity every year to get away and remember Jesus and His call for our life. Thank you for praying!

Changing Colors Means Seneca Lake!

One of my favorite parts of fall is driving up through Central New York along Seneca Lake on our way to the Fall Getaway. The changing colors of the leaves are beautiful and a great reminder that in the midst of change, God remains the same! He also changes our lives to look more like Jesus...the beautiful Savior.

Tomorrow, around 150 students and staff from all over New York State will converge at Long Point Camp on Seneca Lake to worship God for who He is and watch Him continue to change our lives. This is the fifth year that students from all of Upstate New York (Ithaca, Capital Region, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo) will come together. There will be meetings where we will worship God through music and hear from a great speaker. There are also a few times where campuses will come together and discuss how we can impact our campus with the Gospel. And...of course....the annual East vs. West Football game (which will include Ultimate Frisbee and Volleyball this year). A great and fun rivalry!

Pray for....

• All of us to grasp the depth and length of God's love for us...and for that to give us a deeper desire to live fully for Him
  
• Vision for campus...for students to leave with a great desire to reach their friends and peers with the Gospel
• Great times for students to connect with peers and have good times of fellowship
• The meetings- I am the program director this year (running the main meetings)- pray that I would rely on the Holy Spirit and leave the details to Him
• Great weather and safe travel!
• FUN and a weekend where we really ENJOY the Lord!
  

The Need to Belong

"Movements everywhere, so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus." I need to constantly remind myself and students of this mission that God has put before us. At Siena College, one of the problems we have seen over the past two years is the need for students to be a part of a club. In a heavily religious school, students want to belong to a place that focuses on relationship with Jesus instead of the do's and don'ts of religion. Understandably so...so how do we continue to focus on movement building, while giving them a place to belong. We have been putting the vision before them for years now...and it doesn't seem to sink in. What is the problem? God really has started to show me, as he revealed why I have such a need to belong.

God has created us with a desire to belong to something or someone. Its only natural. However, he tells us that if we have trusted in Jesus, we belong to Him...and that is enough. How many of us really believe that though? How many believe and live out the fact that Jesus truly satisfies all needs and wants? Could this be the core problem of why we are not seeing movements on campuses? We can push and encourage students all we want....but if they are not believing that Jesus satisfies completely, why would they be able to focus on going out instead of focusing inward? Why would they be able to focus on building movements and loving others, instead of looking to community for their source of love and acceptance?

Would you pray that we would grasp and live in the deep love and acceptance of God in Christ? Would you pray that would fuel a movement at Siena and campuses throughout the world, so that everyone REALLY CAN know someone who truly follows Jesus.

Saints Are Back...Back Again!

Siena Saints are back for another school year! It was so great to step foot on that campus yesterday for the first time this year. It was even more exciting to walk into the room where we were meeting and see 10 students ready to take lead on their campus. At the end of last year, we had 4!!!! What was even more exciting was that there were 4 freshmen! I couldn't help but wonder what God has in store for the Siena campus this year.

This weekend, just like last week at UAlbany, Siena Real Life students will be going door to door with 150 surveys for other students to take. These surveys will have the same questions that UAlbany Surveys had:

1. Do you ever think about your purpose in life?
2. Do you think it is possible to know God personally?
3. Do you want to talk with someone about how those two go together?

Please pray for student interest in talking more with us. Also, please pray for Joe and Caroline (students at Siena) as they head up this survey event! We'll keep you posted!

Great Dane Update

What happened the first week at UAlbany?

-2 days of meeting and moving freshman into their dorms
-250 freshman received a free water bottle and filled out a really quick spiritual interest questionnaire
-144 freshman indicated they wanted to talk more about God, their purpose in life and how those two go together
-Real Life students and staff had conversations with those students
-I had two hour long conversations with freshmen guys...one of which prayed to receive Christ!
-A new great connection with the staff of Indian Quad- The freshman dorm
-A party to celebrate the start of a new school year. We connected with freshmen there
-The start of the freshman small group

Freshmen filling out surveys

Audrey (Real Life student) interacting with freshmen

New Great Danes!

You should have seen the sight! Music blasting, tons of people in gold and purple, cars everywhere, bins of suitcases and clothes, crying parents, excited students...this is what Indian Quad (the freshman quad at UAlbany) looked like the past two days. I had the opportunity to serve the freshman by helping them move into their new rooms. It was a great time for me to meet students and connect with them. When I wasn't talking with students or parents, much of my time was spent thinking and praying about the great purpose God has for each of those students. It was an encouraging time.

Tonight, we embark on a new semester as a region. We'll be joining together (at the church that Jen and I attend) for an overnight kick-off event. This will be a time for Real Life students in the Capital Region to connect with each other, hear from the Lord and plan for a new semester. It should be a great time. Please pray for us!

Sunday, I'll return to Indian Quad for the annual freshman Block Party. From 3:30-5:30, all of the clubs and organizations on campus will set up tables around the quad. This is a great time to connect with the freshman. We will be handing out water bottles and asking students to take a "spiritual interest questionnaire." From these surveys, we will be able to gauge what students are interested in talking more about God...and those who aren't. Please pray for this time. Pray that we'll get many students that we can follow-up with after the event. Its gonna be a great afternoon!

Please also pray for Jen and I. There is a lot going on and it can get overwhelming. We need to continue to rest in the Lord and his perfect plan. Thanks for running alongside us.

Prayer Under a Haystack

Today, our staff team visited a significant place for a prayer movement- Williams College in Williamstown, MA. In 1806, 5 men were praying for world missions. While praying in the middle of a thunderstorm, God put it on their heart to GO to the world. Read more about the beginning of this movement here.

Our staff team in front of the monument

Abby enjoying the day!

We're back!

Its been more than a month since I last wrote on this blog. Just wanted to update everyone on a few things going on here. We've had a challenging, but good month of raising support. Thank you to everyone who has given us names of people who you think might be interested in partnering with us. We've seen some people join our team as monthly financial supporters, others have increased their support. Thank you to everyone for praying for us during this important time.

Students in Wildwood are wrapping up their summers today. Tuesday, they finished their summer working at their ministry site. Tomorrow, they head back home and then shortly back to school. This is an important time to keep them in prayer as they face this good, but often difficult transition. One of our students wrote in his blog about his time at McDonalds building relationships with international students:

I'm gonna miss those guys like crazy! There are just so many nations represented...Slovakia, Russia, China, Mongolia, Jamaica, Macedonia...God is just amazing for bringing us all together! I've become sooo close with those guys too. Seriously, any group of people that allow me to survive a summer at McDonald's are just flatout awesome and are going to be missed big time! They're some of my closest friends and I really want to keep in contact with them as I go back to my home and they return to their native country. Tonight is the last International Cafe and honestly, I might cry. I love those guys that much. Only ten days are left of being here and I want to flatout make the best of them and enjoy what God has blessed me with.

So yes, there are times I hate just hearing the word "McDonald's" and yes I never want to work there ever again and I'm counting the days (five) until I'm done there forever, and yes it's often been miserable and always exhausting. But I'm lovin' it! I love the people, I love the memories, and I'm so glad God put me there this summer and grateful to have gone through what I have. This is a summer job I will never forget. Thank you McDonald's!

Thank you Dan, and the rest of the students at Wildwood for trusting God with your summer and allowing Him to use you to impact the world!

Monday, we head back into focusing on a new semester and year. I am entering my sixth year serving with Campus Crusade for Christ and the fall/return of students still excites me! We'll start planning for the fall launch next week. We'll be back in full swing in about two weeks. Here we go!

What's Next?

It seems that there is constant transition being on staff with the Campus Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. Its true! Its part of the great adventure!

Now that our summer assignment is over, we have until mid-August to continue to trust God to build our ministry team of prayer and financial supporters. We'll also be continuing to work through our new staff development curriculum, gaining lots of insight and training from the Word and those who have been on staff for many years. This is a great time to learn and allow God to continue to expand our heart for the campus and world.

Please continue to pray that God would put us in touch with new families and individuals who would want to be a part of campus movements in the Capital Region. Also, pray that we would continue to grow in our own relationships with the Lord...and as a family. Jen and I are really looking forward to this time when life slows down and we can spend a lot of time together.

We'll continue to update you on stories of how God provides throughout the rest of the summer.

Passing the Baton

We're home! We left Wildwood to head home to Albany on Saturday. Its great to be back...and at the same time, we miss our students!

Thursday night was a great celebration of the summer and looking forward. The project director gave a talk from 1 Thessalonians (the book the students will be studying the second half of the summer). The staff had the opportunity to stand up and encourage individual students in front of the whole group. Later on, the students had the opportunity to stand up and encourage the staff. It was humbling to watch two of the guys I invested in stand up and speak about how God had used me in their lives this summer. By the end of the evening, as we all stood in a circle (staff on the outside), my eyes were filled with tears as we all prayed together for the new student leaders and the rest of the summer. After a few of the staff prayed, we quietly left the circle and the building. When the students were done praying and opened their eyes, the staff were gone. The realization that they are on their own (no more staff) and their need to trust in the Lord (who continues to be with them) is suddenly placed before them. Please continue to pray for them over the next month as they continue to take steps of faith and trust God with their lives.

Its awesome to know that for a few, short six weeks, you get to be a part of life change....lives that are going to continue to change the campus and the world around them through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you for your prayers and support this summer. You are such an important part of this ministry!

Men's Night 3.0

This past Saturday, we had a time for the men of the project to come together and be men. We had a great time. Below is an entry from one of my student's blogs. He can explain it better than I ever could:

"Saturday night was our final Men's Night and it was amazing! To start, they ran us through calisthenics for about 15 minutes, we then went for a run (with one arm) and we got to a point where there was a small wooden fence like 10 or so feet long and there was a line about two and a half feet high there. Our mission...to grab plastic bags from a dock we had to swim to, fill 'em with sand from a pit 20 yards away from the fence and save our family from the ravaging flood that's about to overtake our house and kill our family. No talking was allowed and we had 45 minutes to do it. It got done, but by the end of it, we were all exhausted and it was a REALLY close finish but the task was done. Then after that, we formed lines of 6 and the person in front of the line had to lead the rest of the blindfolded group through the woods with good communication and the others had to trust him. The only one who could talk was the one in the front of the line, whom was not blindfolded. Then a staff member led the group, with all six of us blindfolded and we got to a point where we were back at the lake house. All this to teach us men were meant to lead and trust one another, no excuses. One of the biggest problems with Christian guys is that we're often too passive and we don't take a stand and often times we don't step in and lead when needed, and that's not the way God intended for us to be, God wants men to be spirit-infused, fearless, bold, and loving."

AWESOME! I'm gonna miss these guys! We leave Saturday to head back to Albany. Tonight is the project turnover to our student leaders. Please pray for this time. We'll update you again in the next few days.

Free Food and More!

It all started last Thursday night (even though the planning started way before then). Groups of students went out into the neighborhoods surrounding the project house to begin inviting the Wildwood community to a free BBQ. Free BBQ? Why? Many were so dumbfounded when they were invited to this event. Why in the world would they be invited by someone they didn't know to a free BBQ? Because that is what Jesus would do.

Approximately 300 neighbors and vacationers came to this event. There was food, water balloons, limbo, karaoke, lots of conversation....and many open doors to share the Gospel. Two of our students shared their testimonies of how they began a relationship with Jesus. Many more of our students had conversations about the Gospel as a result of those stories being shared. We know that at least 4 people prayed to receive Christ. Who knows what else God did that night in people's hearts. I am sure more than we can imagine.

Its hard to believe we have less than 2 weeks left here. We are excited for all that is left during these weeks. There is a whole lot left to experience before we head back home.

A Conversation on the Boardwalk

Its hard to believe that the students have been here for 2 1/2 weeks already! We've seen God move in so many ways, in such a short amount of time. We are all continuing to learn and live out what it truly means to treasure Jesus and make Him known!

About a week ago, I was on the boardwalk having spiritual conversations. A project student and I approached two women sitting on a bench. They were excited to talk with us. They love having spiritual conversations. Having just had one a few days before with another organization, they were ready for this one....or so they thought. God has been teaching me the art of asking questions, which helps people process themselves what they truly believe. At one point, one of the women said to me, "I believe in God. I lead my own life and do what I think is right. He is always there for me. God is in everyone. I have his wisdom in case I ever need it." My responsive question to that was, "so what you are telling me is that you are your own God and you think the real God is your sidekick?" From that point on, the women got very uncomfortable, because they realized what they truly believed...that they were their own God. As we walked back to the project house, the student and I prayed for them. Please join us in praying for them as well as others in Wildwood that God would continue to show people their need for Him and draw them into a loving relationship with Himself.

This morning, an international student stopped by the project house wondering if we rented out rooms. While we weren't able to do that, I was encouraged to walk onto the project porch an hour later and seeing a bunch of our men having brunch with this student. They made pancakes and were sitting on the porch loving this student from another country who had just arrived here. What an awesome testimony to the love of Christ...how Jesus has changed these project student's lives and how they are making Jesus known to others.

These are only a few of the many stories that have happened so far this summer. Thank you for praying for us.

We are in Wildwood!

We are in Wildwood! Our family is settled in. After a week of staff orientation and preparation, we are excited for students to arrive on Tuesday, June 1st.

And with Memorial Day weekend...summer has arrived! Overnight, the Wildwood population goes from a few hundred to thousands. One day, the shops are all boarded up and the only people on the boardwalk are the few local runners getting their daily exercise. The next, the shops are open and their loud music and flashy t-shirts lure in vacationers. The funnel cakes and french fries can be smelt for miles. And then there are the seagulls....well I am sure they were there before everyone arrived, but now they are in full attack mode at the sight of anything slightly resembling food. (probably my best motivation to not eat food on the boardwalk! They freak me out!) The beach is overflowing with families, friends, college students, high school seniors (celebrating senior week) and lots of international students. It is quite the atmosphere!

Joe and I are really looking forward to getting to know our neighbors this summer. The neighbor to our right is a girl from Turkey. The neighbors to our right are a large group of girls who just graduated from high school. Please pray that God would give us many opportunities to build relationships with them.

Please pray:

• for our outreach tomorrow on the boardwalk from 1-2:30; that we would follow the Lord's leading to the people He would have us talk to.
  
• that we would start relationships with many store owners, workers and vacationers
  
• that many people would hear the Gospel and have an opportunity to respond to Jesus.
  
• that each person on our staff team would have their faith stretched and would really lean hard on Jesus this summer.
  
• for the students as they arrive that God would continue preparing their hearts for their time here this summer.

Thank you for partnering with us! Stay tuned for more updates (and more pictures!).

Email us (Joe: joe.cassel@uscm.org or Jen: jen.cassel@gmail.com) and let us know how we can be praying for you.

-Jen

Wrap up!

Can you believe it? The semester is fully over. Students are in exams or on their way home. Today, as a staff team, we just finished our semester evaluation and fall planning. There is so much to celebrate and look forward to. Sometime over the next few days, you will be getting our April/May newsletter with a list of things to celebrate from the semester. Enjoy reading about what God has done!

Last night, we had some of Siena leaders over for dinner to celebrate the end of the school year. We had pizza and wings. Then, we walked up to the local ice cream shop. We finished the night by playing Monopoly Slam (card game). I am so thankful for each of them. They each bring such unique personalities and giftings to the table, and God has used each of them in a different way on the Siena campus this semester. It was great to invite them into our home and give them a chance to rest and have fun. It was awesome to be a part of a conversation they started at the ice cream shop about how they can more effectively reach their campus with the Gospel in the Fall. I was so encouraged by how THEY brought it up. God is doing something in each of their hearts to help them live out of an eternal perspective.

So...with that part of the year completed, we look to Wildwood. I am sure you have all received a letter from us in the mail about support for the summer and our goal of $3,500. We are praising Him as we see Him provide! Please keep praying for these funds to be raised up. We start our time in NJ on the 16th in my hometown of Moorestown. If you will be around, we would love to see you. Please let us know. We head to Wildwood on May 22nd. Please pray for this time of transition.

Sharing Jesus at Siena

For those of you who read our last paper newsletter, you know that this week is the week where Siena leaders with Campus Crusade are taking a part of their day, every day to engage in spiritual conversations with other students on campus. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to use Soularium (a picture survey that asks questions about the individual's life and spiritual journey, giving lots of opportunities to share the Gospel) with one of our leaders. We set up the pictures outside of the library in the rain. Some students came and talked about the images and their views of God. We also got to share with a few. I can't wait to hear more stories from our leaders about how God is using them this week! Please pray for them, great conversations and students to know Christ!

Tonight, we are having our second Athletes in Action meeting at UAlbany. Last week, we had 10 athletes come out from 5 different sports. It was awesome! I was talking to a softball player at the end and asked her if she would come back next week. She said that she would. She shared that she was a little skeptical of the evening at first, but that it was so much different than what she expected. She is excited for this week! Please pray for Keyana (our student athlete leader) who is leading the group tonight.

As we end the year, God continues to show up in powerful ways. It reminds me that just because the school year is wrapping up, it doesn't mean that God stops working in people's hearts. Amazing! Thanks for praying for us!

AIA Launch

Last night, I had the chance to sit with a friend and remember all that God has done in the lives of student athletes at UAlbany. It all started with a connection to one coach, which led to a connection with the women's basketball team, which led to a connection to the football team. Then, a freshman athlete steps up and says that "I want to lead a movement of student athletes at UAlbany."

Tonight, we are going to launch an Athletes in Action movement at UAlbany. Some members of our staff team and one key student leader have put a lot of time and effort into this informational meeting tonight. We know that every student athlete is on the heart of God, so we expect He has big things in store. Posters have been put up around the athletic facilities and e-mails have been sent out to every athlete. Please pray for this event tonight. Pray for freshman basketball player, Keyana, as she shares what it looks like to be a student athlete who plays and lives for Jesus. Pray for the video testimonials that we will show of athletes whose lives have been changed. Pray for the staff as we trust God with tonight's event. Pray for me as I share with the athletes from God's Word at the end of the time. We are praying that 50 athletes will come tonight. We are so excited and will be sure to keep you updated!

Big Break 2010

As I sit here and reflect on the past 2 weeks, I am thinking about how God is such a provider. He loves to meet our needs! Jen and I worried so much about taking the trip to Florida with an infant. Needless to say, God reminded us again that He is the one who takes care of us, freeing us to enjoy all the adventures He has for us! What a great 2 weeks!

We fly back to Philadelphia today and then drive home to Albany tomorrow. Last week, we had a great week with our students in Panama City Beach among the thousands of Spring Breakers from around the country. We talked with so many awesome people, who have so much hurt and emptiness in their life. It was so much fun to meet them where they are at in life, here about their life and spiritual journeys, and often have a chance to share the Gospel with them. I was sitting on our balcony one morning overlooking the great ocean. The beach was quiet. God quietly reminded me that even in a place of so much brokeness, He is still there, working in the lives of so many people and drawing them closer to Himself. The results of the week showed that truth. During the week we were there, 2,811 spiritual conversations were initiated with people on the beach. Of these, 2,206 spiritual conversations were actually held. 311 conversations were held about the Spirit-filled life and 72 people prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Gospel was presented to 1,619 people and 309 people prayed to receive Christ! What a great week...and what a great God!

Another blessing of the week was packing meals for people in Haiti. The students had the opportunity to take part in this during one afternoon of the week. During the course of Big Break 2010 (which lasts for 5 weeks) 1,009,068 meals were packed for people in Haiti. These meals consist of rice with a chicken flavoring and vegetables. Each meal feeds 6 people. The meals were shipped out of Panama City that Friday and should be close to arriving in Haiti, if not already have arrived.

So, after spending the week in Panama City Beach, we drove 8 hours south with Abby (that was an adventure in itself) to relax and spend time with family at Jen's grandmother's house. It was a great time to rest up and get ready for the rest of the semester (less than a month!) We're ready to get back and excited to see what the rest of the semester has in store! Stay tuned...

Panama City Beach! Here We Come!

Jen, Abby, four UAlbany students and I are getting ready to head down to Panama City Beach this coming Friday for a week for a training conference. We will spend our afternoons talking with students relaxing on the beach about their spiritual backgrounds, as well as giving as many as possible an opportunity to trust Jesus with their lives. This is exciting for Jen and I, because we both went to this conference as students. It was life-changing! (and its where I first started to get to know Jen!) We will be there from March 26-April 3. Please pray for...

-Safety traveling: The students will be driving down with others from Brown University and New York City. Jen, Abby and I will be flying down.
-That God would continue to change our hearts as we hear from and respond to Him.
-Great fellowship and community building among the UAlbany community.
-That we would love well and be good listeners as we talk with others on the beach who do not know Him.
-That the many students who we talk to on the beach would respond to His love and trust Him with their lives.

Thank you for praying! We look forward to updating you when we get back!

Mary's Continued Investment

As I write this entry, the women's basketball season is coming to a close as they have their America East conference tournament in Hartford, CT. What a season! They really pulled together as a team and played well! Enjoy watching the video below that explains what God is doing on the basketball team from a player's perspective. The team member is Keyana Williams, a freshman starter.



In other news, Mary's small group of international students continues to go strong this semester. She has 2 other students from East Asia who come every week and they have a great time talking about the Lord and how the Bible applies to their lives. One of the students, Walter*, is a freshman. Mary, Walter and I sat down a few weeks ago to clearly go through the Gospel. He said he had prayed to receive Christ before, but is "too lazy" (his words) to walk with Jesus. Please pray for discernment for Mary and I to truly see where he is with Jesus. Starting next Friday, we are going back to the basics with Walter and a 5 week study on "Who is Jesus?" I am so excited to see how God works in Walter's life. Walter's English is very limited, so it has been awesome to see Mary teach Walter a lot of the basic concepts of a relationship with God. God continues to use Mary in incredible ways!

*Name has been changed

Dinner and Basketball

We are full swing into the semester. We had a fun beginning with our students. It was great to see some of our students at UAlbany jump on board with what God is doing on the women's basketball team. We held an event to welcome back the students after their break. First, we had dinner at T.G.I. Fridays. We had a good crowd show up. It was fun catching up with some of the students and hearing about their breaks. Then, some of us went from dinner to continue on the fun at the womens' basketball game at UAlbany. This was great to show our support of the team. When I (Joe) was with them earlier in the day (for Chapel) and shared that some of the students were coming to support them that night, they got excited. The womens' team doesn't draw a crowd like the men's, so they love it when people (especially their peers) come out to support them. It was a great way for the students in our movement to love the team.

A new addition!

We have a beautiful new addition to our family! Abigail Emery Cassel was born on January 17th at 7:28 pm, weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz. Everything went very smooth. God answered so many prayers and we are so thankful! Mom and baby are home now and doing very well. We love Abby so much and she makes us laugh and smile everyday. Thank you for praying for us! If you are interested in staying up to date with Abby, Jen will be starting a new family blog soon. This one will remain a place for ministry updates. We'll let you know of the blog address for the new blog when Jen has time to set it up.

BWC Photos!

Below is a website where you can find photos of the Boston Winter Conference. We hope this will help you gain a greater idea of what took place at the conference. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/cccnehq/BWC2010?feat=email#

Andy's Story

Our students have returned from the Boston Winter Conference and had an awesome time! I (Joe) have really enjoyed hearing the stories of a few students and what the Lord shared with them there. Since Jen and I weren't there this year, I asked one student (Andy from UAlbany) to share a little bit about how God used the conference to impact his life. Enjoy reading...

My name is Andy and I am a junior at the University at Albany. This was
my first time going to BWC. For the first time, I was at a retreat among
other college students who were just as committed as me to seeing our
lives and our campuses reflect God's glory. The friends I made here will
last for a long time and into eternity, I am sure, and I can't wait to go
back.

I guess what struck me the most about being with these people was how much
everyone owned thier faith. It was no longer a parent's faith, or a youth
pastor's faith. It is ours, and it is real because of the Holy Spirit who
lives in us. I just saw others like myself seeking after God in a
personal relationship and it reminded me that the battle is still being
fought everywhere for Jesus to be lifted up.

God really showed me a lot about the "win, build, send" model of
evangelism and discipleship and missionary work. God helped me become
more secure and willing to accept my position as a small group leader and
as one entrusted with Jesus' disciples. I can say in a fresh way: I am
honored to be part of the Great Commission on my campus because of the
breath of fresh spiritual air that came from BWC.

God also gave me some specific directions for my educational path that
have challenged me to "walk by faith, not by sight". Although I am still
scared, I trust God and I am so appreciative for all of the examples of
faith I was able to witness at BWC so that I could "run with perserverance
the race marked out for me" because of "this great cloud of witnesses"
(Hebrews 12:1).

Overall, BWC was an awesome experience, allowed me fellowship time with
other Christians, allowed me worship time to thank God, let us experience
the joy of outreach and partnering in God's sovereign salvation, and, most
of all, gave me time to stand on the mountain and hear the sweet voice of
my Savior. So thank you, Jesus, and thank you, BWC!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010! We hope you had a great Christmas and New Year celebration. Jen and I continue to wait for our little girl to make her first appearance. No news yet! We'll keep you updated. Please keep praying!

Today, January 2, two exciting things are happening...

1. There is a UAlbany women's home basketball game today vs. Rhode Island at 2:00. I (Joe) will be spending time in Chapel with them this morning after their warm ups. We will be talking about HOLY SWEAT. The main topic is that Jesus calls us to be holy and it takes sweat to get there...and how our goal in life is not hapiness, but holiness. The women are excited. I got an e-mail from the assistant coach yesterday saying the girls were asking about whether or not we were having Chapel today. God is moving on that team! Please pray for our time this morning.

2. 19 Capital Region students will leave from Crossgates Mall at noon and roadtrip to Boston for the 2010 Boston Winter Conference. The conference begins tonight with a first meeting and then...the Shane and Shane concert! What a way to begin the conference! Please pray for safety for students throughout the Northeast Region traveling to this conference. Pray that God would draw students into a deeper relationship with Himself and that they would have a greater understanding of their purpose in the world.

As you probably guessed, Jen and I will not be attending the conference this year. There is some sadness, because it is such a special time of the year for both of us. However, the reason we are not going is so much more important! We will be sure to let you know when she comes!