ASU XA:: One Family :: - Vicky

"Ever since the beginning of the year, I was told that Chi Alpha was a big family, but I didn't understand that completely until the Salome Creek Canyon hike. The trip was on my birthday and I had never been hiking before, but I wanted to spend time with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, so I took the challenge. The hike was difficult and I grew tired quickly, but I was so excited to see what was around each corner that I kept pushing myself.

Unfortunately, because of some unplanned occurrences, a small group of us had to swim back to the trail in the dark. The water was cold and our bodies were tired, but the seven of us helped each other swim to dry land. Once we were out of the water, we realized it was too dark to see the trail, so Shawn quickly came to a decision. We were going to climb the mountainside. Though I was scared, I threw any negativity out of my head. I knew God was with us and He would get us back home safely.

The climb was rough... and I have countless scars and bruises to prove it! But with the help of God and my dear Chi Alpha family I was able to push through the physical exhaustion and pain. "Have hope," everyone kept saying, "the trail is around here somewhere!" Thankfully, God heard our prayers, for a few feet up we noticed some people walking with a light. We called out to them and I heard a familiar voice, rescue had come at last! A sweet man named Brian who had been camping out with his girlfriend heard we needed help and hiked down the trail to look for us. Thanks to him we were able to find the trail and walked back to the truck where we met the others and hugged each other in relief. All in all, the trip was a great experience! I enjoyed the time I spent with everyone, but I am definitely glad to be back on solid ground.

As for Chi Alpha, it really is like a family to me. My brothers and sisters in Christ have taken me in and showed me how to love God more deeply than I did before. I'm a new believer, I was save just over a year ago... my passion and love for Christ is ever growing. My family back at home is not Christian and seemed to be strongly against my newfound faith. That being said, home life was slightly difficult for me this past year. Before Chi Alpha, I would only be able to spend a few hours on a Sunday morning with God, but I knew it wasn't enough... I soon realized I needed more. Thanks to Chi Alpha, I can now spend as much time as I want with God. I pray on my way to class, I worship Him in the middle of my dorm room and I course, I sit in the prayer house into wee hours of the morning when I should really be sleeping...

Regrettably, my family at home has concerns that I'm not making the right decisions, but I know that this is what God wants me to do. God loves me and wants me to be here with these wonderful people. Chi Alpha is my Christian home away from home, and for that I praise God."

~ Vicky, freshman at Arizona State

Princess Averi

"Downscaled" this year for Averi's party... we had 20 kids and 28 adults... hahah!

The party was wonderful... to be surrounded by such great friends, family, kiddos running all over the place, girls dressed as beautiful princesses and lots and lots of Pink... Awesome! :)

Shawn said, "I am little concerned that Averi did not seem to mind having all the attention focused on her." hahah!

She did love it... she sat very comfortably in her pink "throne" and held her princess wand for quite some time!

Hard to believe our beautiful princess is already two years old! Averi is full of life and energy and continues to love "all things girl" but she can also play in the dirt!

She has quite the personality and you can see the leader and fashionista developing within her!

Her favorite gift was her new pink retro kitchen and the pots, pans, food and other accessories that went with it! She has been baking up a storm ever since! :)

For all of you who joined us in this celebration... Thank You!

We are blessed!

Lake Powell 2010

Arizona State Students and Embry Riddle Aeronautical Students joined together in September for Chi Alpha's annual Lake Powell Adventure.

Over 100 students camped out on the sand under the stars for the weekend. Boating...Tubing....Cliff Jumping....and Building Amazing Relationships and Memories that will last a lifetime!

We were so excited to have so many new students join us on this trip. It's amazing how a 6 hour car ride and shared experience at the lake can turn strangers into close friends... I love that!

This year was Trenton's first year to go with the "Chi Alpha kids". Trenton and Shawn left late Wednesday night and didn't get back until late Sunday night. Trenton had an absolute blast and has not stopped talking about the trip.

Someone asked me if this trip was worth all the set up and work... and if it was just a "fun" trip or was it "spiritual"..?

My answer is YES.. the work, the time, the money, the effort... TOTALLY worth it.... and having fun... surrounded by God's awesome creation and building authentic relationships is definitely Spiritual!

In the last many year of this trip, I cannot even tell you the many stories of students coming to know the Lord and being transformed by godly community!

Praise God that He is not confined to a building or a particular place .... and that we as His followers, are the Church and we have the awesome privilege to take Him with us and share His LOVE everywhere we go!

Please continue to pray for the relationships and the conversations that began at the lake.. may they continue to develop and bring each student one step close to their Maker!

Check out this awesome video made by ERAU XA!

Beaver Creek

An hour and a half of driving, 9 cars, God's amazing landscape, and fifty-some people and I find myself beginning, for about my 8th year in a row, our annual Beaver Creek hike! This past saturday we took our largest group ever to a fun hike into a box canyon with cliff jumping and swimming just east of Sedona. While hikes are a fun break from the normal day-to-day campus life and everyone loves the adrenaline rush of throwing yourself from a rock ledge into the crisp cool water, the real joy is found in the relationships that are formed and strengthened during these shared experiences. Whether its the student leader who spends two hours hiking discussing who Jesus is and what he did for us with the Hindu student, or the new freshman who has felt completely alone at ASU having her first real conversations and finding her first real friends at college in a group she heard of for the first time only a week before, Beaver Creek always proves to be more than "just a hike". If you want to get a chance to know someone I say take a walk. If you want to get to know them well and have deep, meaningful conversation, make it a 3.5 mile walk (each way) set in the backdrop of a beautiful arizona canyon with a great place to swim and hang out in the middle of it all.

Ready, Set, Go!!!!

Hard to believe another school year is upon us! New students...new opportunities... just something exciting about New beginnings!

We gathered with our student leadership team a couple weeks before school began. We continued to plan and work out the details of our Fall Welcome 2010. We joined our hearts together in prayer for this upcoming school year and asked the Lord to bring divine appointments our way! Our student leaders discussed what godly community looks like, what it means to serve under godly authority, how to engage in meaningful conversation, how to live an intentional life and SO many other topics!

It blesses my heart to see that our students have already put so much of what they discussed and learned into action!

We asked our leaders to spend 6 hours on campus before school was officially in session... to hang out in dorms, the student rec center... basically anywhere new students would be. Amidst nervousness and uncertainty, our students took the challenge! Many were amazed by how easy it was to meet all kinds students.. to play games... engage in cool conversations... invite them to church, Chi Alpha, etc.

Just a little sampling of what we have been up to...

First day of classes began on Thursday, August 19th... students came together on that first night of school to pray and worship together.

Friday, August 20th - XA Sports Night -- students played soccer and other games on campus and invited new students to join them.

Saturday, August 21st - XA Welcome BBQ - We enjoyed a yummy lunch together with old and new friends. We were extremely blessed by a couple of women in our church who coordinated and prepared the food, side dishes and desserts. The BBQ was a huge success.... we were thrilled to see so many new faces!!

Saturday, August 21st- Passport to ASU - This is ASU's club fair for all incoming freshmen.... literally tons of the ASU student organizations set up tables for all the students to come by and get information (kinda feels like a huge cattle herd coming through!). Everything from Environmental, Dance, Sports, Academic to Faith groups.

Sunday, August 22nd - Campus wide BBQ's ... Chi Alpha, along with many other Christian ministries volunteered to make this possible... the evening ended with ASU 1st Laugh at Gammage Auditorium ... a night of clean comedy, hundreds of new students attended this event.

Throughout all of the above mentioned we have met many new students.. our XA team has worked hard and have invested themselves for the cause of advancing His Kingdom at Arizona State University.

Would you please pray with us.. that God would continue to lead our team and water the seeds that have been sown.

This Wednesday night at 7:30pm will be our first Chi Alpha Service. We are believing God for a historic night... for hearts and lives to impacted by the Good News of Jesus Christ!

We're Back!

Ok my last post was about Easter....sorry for the delay! I am either extremely lazy, extremely busy or extremely distracted every 5 minutes from my two little friends.. ?? I will let you decide. (perhaps it is a combination of all of the above! lol)

So since I know I will not be able to give the last few months justice, I will not attempt... but maybe a few highlights and will fill in the blanks at a later date.

May

XA End of the Year Banquet -

We enjoyed an awesome night of food, testimonies, worship and friends. It is always so much fun meeting students' parents and giving parents an opportunity to get a sneak peek into their children's lives... for them to hopefully see that their kids have been involved in something that matters...that they have been growing in their relationship with God and building friendships that will last a lifetime!

This night is also such an encouragement for Shawn and myself... to sit back and look around in complete awe of the goodness of God!

XA Mission Trips -

We had the privilege to send out two teams this summer. One to Macedonia and another to South Africa. Both teams made it back safely and students have come back changed... with a broadened perspective of God's heart for people!

* Testimonies and pictures to come!

Summer Time -

I am asked on a regular basis what our life looks like during summer time and how/if things change for us.

For me, summer is always a very interesting transition... as we focus more time on admin work, support raising and working from home. Often, I really miss the constant motion and activity of campus life...and I find it difficult to adapt to a new schedule and create new structure.... awww the life of a missionary! :)

This summer we have been having Summer XA... we are meeting in different homes...sharing a meal together, cool times of prayer, worship, testimonies and time in the Word. Summer XA is a bit more student led.... various students have agreed to host a night... which means they do the planning, delegating and execution.... AWESOME!

Last night we joined together and it was truly such a delight to see our students lead. I love how much God grows students through the community of Chi Alpha and that students are given opportunity to try new things and to be released in areas of ministry. What better way to learn and grow than by doing....?

The Home Front -

Trenton not only completed his first "semester" of pre-school but he also attended Vacation Bible School for the first time. He did great in both! It is crazy to see how quickly he is growing up. It is really cute that he has his little group of friends and tells us all sorts of random stories about his friends and the things he is learning! He continues to love learning bible verses and asks us to read his bible to him just about every night... but now he is very particular about what part he wants us to read... he generally wants to hear about the soldiers. :)

He picks up on so much of what we say and is quite the "rule follower" (well of the ones he likes, and more so of the ones he wants to make sure WE follow!)

"Daddy, we don't wear our hat at the table!"

"Mommy, we don't stand up in the car!" ( as I try to pick up Averi's cup)

I went to a friends' house for lunch and as she was telling me a story... Trenton says...

"Mommy, we are not supposed to talk with our mouth full!"

haha... Well, at least what he is saying is mostly true! lol.

Averi is also growing sooo quickly. She has quite the personality.. she keeps us on our toes, for sure! I always said that I hoped to have a girl that could be "girly" but who was also not afraid to get dirty.... well this proved to be true about Averi! We went camping with a couple families and Averi was covered with dirt and loved it!

She continues to love shoes, bows, necklaces.... Her new favorite word is NO... her new hobby is climbing onto our kitchen counters and her favorite movie is Snow White!

Averi and Trenton have a love/hate relationship... they are hilarious to watch together... such sweet moments and also such brutality!

Hope you are enjoying your summer! As always, we would love to hear from you and know how we can be lifting you up in prayer!

Until next time... (which will hopefully NOT be 3 months from now! ha. )

Easter Sunday

We enjoyed a great Easter Sunday! We started the morning off with the kids looking for their Easter baskets.. they were so excited to find them! I purposefully put very little candy in their baskets because I knew they would probably be getting more than enough throughout the day... and I was right (thanks to you know who... Grandma and Nana...but I guess that is their job ! :) )

After church, we went to a huge easter egg hunt that our church organized at the park. Thanks to many volunteers and church staff .. they had 6,000 eggs for the kids to "hunt". They seperated the children based on age and then it was free for all! Our kids loved it!

We then headed to grandma and grandpas' for Easter dinner! It was nice to be with Shawn's parents and my mom and her husband, Mike. Several of our friends and their families joined us as well! We had 15 adults and 8 children... made for a crazy and adventurous day!! We even celebrated through the earthquake and had no idea it had even happened! :)

We did a easter egg hunt for the kids and the adults participated in our annual Egg Toss ( a family tradition that I am determined to keep alive!!! Sad to say we did not have a winner... we all tied!)

A wonderful day... but best of all... celebrating the Ressurection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

So thankful that because of the work of the cross and because He Lives.. we can too!