Lisa (right) has seen so much growth!

Meet Lisa. She has been one of my (Cameron’s) greatest sources of encouragement in ministry.

I met Lisa at the beginning of the 2010 school year. An incoming freshman at UC Davis, she lived in the dorm area where I led a Bible study. Lisa was fun, had lots to talk about, and never failed to have a smile on her face! And, as we all do, there were still many areas where Lisa had room to grow.

As I got to know Lisa, I found that she was eager to learn more about God and His Word, but her relationship with her boyfriend of more than two years was keeping her from moving forward. I mentioned seeing unhealthy patterns in their relationship; Lisa agreed. She then decided to surrender the relationship to the Lord, and they broke up soon afterward.

I not only got to be a shoulder for Lisa to cry on, but also consistently remind her of God’s truth and love for her. As she worked through the emotions of ending such a long relationship, I saw her fervor for the Lord grow.

Lisa soon decided to go to Santa Monica Summer Project, the same project that Jeff and I attended. Because of this faith stretching summer, I saw her grow in her understanding of the Gospel and God’s heart for the world.

After summer, Lisa returned to campus with a desire to reach the lost students of UC Davis with the Gospel of Jesus. And, for the last seven months, she has been helping lead a freshman Bible study. After being poured into so much for a year, she is now the one pouring into the younger girls! I have no doubt that God is using Lisa to touch the lives of every girl in her study.

Over my last three years of leading freshman girls, I’ve had some great moments of seeing how God has used me, but being a part of Lisa’s journey has been one of the sweetest. In fact, a huge blessing is that Lisa is going on the South Africa Summer Project this year with three other girls that I have led in Bible studies. I’m so excited to see her continue to grow, watch God use her to impact lives on campus, and to send her out equipped to touch more lives with the Gospel after she graduates.

I’m so thankful that God has given me the privilege of working with girls like Lisa! Thank you for partnering with us as we see Him transform lives! 🙂

Prayer Requests

–   Thank the Lord for Lisa!  Pray for her summer in South Africa and her remaining two years at UC Davis.

–   Thank the Lord for providing a reliable car.  We are super blessed.

–   Pray for our upcoming leadership retreat (May 4-6) with new and returning student leaders.  It is here that we’ll plan our outreach for fall quarter.

–   Pray for Cameron, who is finishing her last quarter as a student at UC Davis.  On top of ministry, she is taking four classes.  Pray for endurance and strength.

Shin, a freshman from Glendora, CA

“I’ve made my decision,” Shin said with a huge smile as he walked up to me (Jeff).

I had met Shin for the first time back in September.  In middle of his first few days of college, he told me that he didn’t have much of a spiritual background, but that he could see himself becoming a Christian in college.  Yet, he knew hardly anything about Jesus.  After sharing the Gospel with Shin, I recommended that he read the book of John.  While he was reading, I told him to ask if Jesus was someone who he thought he could trust.

Shin and I began to meet up a few times per quarter.  On top of our meetings, he was involved with a church’s college group, where he attended bible studies and church on Sunday.
Every time we would meet, Shin would come with a ton of questions for us to walk though.  At the end of most of our meetings, I would ask where he was at in making a decision of giving his life to Jesus.  Although he was having his questions answered, he still couldn’t make the leap to entrust himself to Christ.  I understood and even admired his hesitance about jumping into something quickly.  After all, if you’re going to give your whole life to someone, you probably want to know the person to whom you’re giving it.  However, committing to Jesus, I told him, is kind of like saying “I do” at a wedding.  When you say those words, you don’t know everything about the person you’re marrying.  From what you do know, however, you’ve decided that this person is trustworthy, and you enter into a covenant relationship based on that knowledge.

At one point along the way, Shin had made a decision that Jesus wasn’t for him.  Yet, by the grace of God, Christians around him kept pursuing him, and his investigation resumed.
A few weeks ago, Shin asked me to meet up.  This was unusual, because I was usually the one to initiate.  He didn’t specify what he wanted to talk about.  But, it became obvious the moment he saw me.

“I’ve made my decision,” he told me as he approached me.  “I decided to become a Christian!”  Shin told me he went to his church’s retreat the past weekend.  From listening to the sermons, for the first time he understood at a deep level that he was a sinner who needed to be rescued by Jesus.  It was then that Shin decided to trust him.

I am so thankful for God’s pursuit of Shin!  It is so evident that he was stirring in him from the moment he got to UC Davis in September.  I am also thankful that Shin is being followed-up through intentional discipleship in his church.

Thanks so much for being part of what God is doing at UC Davis!!

Prayer Requests

As I (Jeff) stood at the altar with my groomsmen by my side, I looked out and saw so many people gathered to support Cameron and me.  How surreal!  The moment was finally here.

The bridesmaids made their way down the aisle one by one.  Then I saw her.  Outside, Cameron was walking arm in arm with her father, about to walk down the aisle to meet me at the altar.  I gasped.  Then tears started to flow down my cheeks.  I looked longingly at her as she made her way down the aisle, where her father gave her to me.  After a beautiful ceremony, we were pronounced man and wife, and I was allowed to kiss my bride.

We made our way to Kauai the next day for our honeymoon, a gift from many of the people who attended the wedding.  It was so wonderful!

As I write this today, Cameron and I have been married for four weeks.  We’re enjoying settling in together in our new apartment and living life together.

A Rocky Return

While the honeymoon went off nearly without a hiccup, the return home definitely didn’t.

We flew in to San Jose from Kauai late at night.  We picked up our car and made a quick stop to get something to eat.  We went over a speed bump a little too fast, and within a minute the car died and began to smoke.  There were flames under the hood!  Worst of all, we had no water to put the flames out.  Luckily, after about 3 or 4 minutes, someone rescued us with a fire extinguisher.  He put the flames out, but not before a lot of parts were completely fried, including the electrical wiring.  The car was totaled.

Not the best way to return from your honeymoon!

Thankfully, Cameron has a car that we can use in the meantime, but it’s not a car that we would trust for the many trips we make down to Southern California for ministry conferences.  As a result, we’re in the market for a car!

Winter Conference

The week before our wedding, over 800 students gathered in San Diego for a four-day conference.  Over 70 Davis students came and were received training on how to walk with God for a lifetime and equipped in how to do evangelism in the relationships they already have.  Additionally, one student from Davis named Shengxi (pronounced Shung-Zee) decided to give his life to Jesus!

Thanks so much for continuing to invest in our lives and ministry!  We are blessed!

–   Pray for God to provide a reliable car within the next month or so.

–   Thank God for a beautiful wedding and wonderful honeymoon!

–   Pray for us as we are learning to do life and ministry as a married couple.  It’s definitely fun, but full of adjustments!

–   Praise God for Shengxi’s decision!

–   Deeper knowledge of the gospel in the hearts of our students.

More Pics

Jose (3rd from the right) with some of his bible study leaders (Tyler on the far left, Cameron on the far right)

God is continuing to move at UC Davis.

During the first week on campus (late September), our students and staff handed out over 2,000 water bottles in exchange for spiritual interest surveys from other students.  José, a freshman sociology major, received a water bottle that week and indicated he would like to talk to someone about his spiritual beliefs.

The next day Tyler, a junior student-leader, called José and set up an appointment to meet at a Starbucks on campus.  José shared about growing up in a rough neighborhood in San Bernardino.  Even though he had no spiritual background, he knew that God exists and that He has a plan for his life.  “I wouldn’t be here at UC Davis if he didn’t,” Jose said.  “I really shouldn’t be here.” Tyler then began to share the gospel.  After discussing sin, it’s consequences, Jesus and a relationship with God, José understood the gospel and indicated a desire to have Christ in his life.  But, he was not ready to surrender to someone he did not know much about.  So, Tyler and José agreed to meet up once a week to continue this discussion and read the Bible together.

Several weeks later, José decided to come to Cru’s Fall Retreat with 120 other Davis students.  Over the course of the weekend he bunked with other freshmen guys, dressed up for the annual ‘Thrift Store Prom’, talked with Tyler and others about Jesus, and heard several talks on how the gospel is worth surrendering everything.  On Saturday night José took a walk around the camp to talk with Jesus. He told Jesus of his desire to surrender and of his uncertainty about what that looks like.  He said, “If it takes me saying the words ‘I surrender’, then I surrender!”

Praise God for his pursuit of José!  Tyler is now leading José through follow-up material, which talks about following Christ in daily life.

Prayer Requests

–   Thank God for José and Angel, both of whom put their trust in Jesus at Fall Retreat.

–   Pray that José and Angel would understand the depth of the Gospel and surrender more and more of their lives to Jesus.

–   Pray for Crossroads, a conference from November 18-20 aimed to equip juniors and seniors to serve Christ wholeheartedly after college.

–   Pray for Cameron and me, as we get married two months from today!  Pray that we would serve each other sacrificially.  Also pray for wedding preparations.

–   Thank God that we get to go to Kauai for our honeymoon!  God provided through a ministry partner.  We’re super excited!

Cameron and I at the start of the school year