July was a good month, though very busy for us.  With help from my parents (who we stayed with during the whole month), Jeremiah and I were able to work well on our various projects.

Jeremiah was coaching several interns and STINTers all summer as they walked through support raising for their year-long commitment either in the US or overseas, working with Cru. He was able to encourage them from God’s Word to keep going and to remember why they are doing what they are doing; he was also able to challenge them to work harder in little ways, remembering that there is joy in inviting people to partner with you in reaching people for Christ.  One of the coolest things that happened is that one of the girls has had the opportunity to share the gospel with many of her family members that had never heard the truth of God’s Word.  Several of them have seen the hope she has in Christ, asked many questions, and some have turned to Him as well.  God is good, and we never know what he is going to use for His purposes.

At the same time, we were also re-connecting with many of our ministry partners in the Bay Area (what a joy to have so many wonderful people partnering with us in ministry), and also inviting others to consider partnering with us. God graciously provided some new partners, and we praise God for them, and the encouragement the individual conversations Jeremiah had with them brought.  When we share about what God has done and look forward to what we are trusting Him to do in reaching the hard soil of Flagstaff, it reinvigorates our passion for what He has called us to.

Jeremiah and I have had many a conversation and have both laughed and shed many tears as we have thought about what God has done and the desires we have for seeing the Gospel further transform students’ lives and driving them to boldly live for Him wherever they go.  We are so thankful that several of our students are gaining a heart for the lost and for the world, and we long to see God send many more from here to reach this culture and other cultures with the healing, powerful, hope-filled message that is found ONLY in CHRIST!  We are excited to see more transformation like we have seen, and we are trusting that spiritual multiplication will continue to grow as we enter this third year of the Cru ministry here–students and community members pouring into more students.  Please join us in praying for this!

Finally, I was also working on a big legal project in July that has slowly been in the works for a few years. I have been working with a staff member from the faculty ministry of Cru (Faculty Commons) to develop a resource website for Faculty that encourages them to live out their faith in the academy and shares about many of the legal parameters and rights they have as employees of colleges and universities.  I flew to Orlando (to Cru headquarters) for a few days at the end of July to meet up and pull together the final details. We have the content complete and are now working on getting it up online. I am excited about seeing it up and running, and pray that God uses it to encourage faculty members around the country to continue to live for Christ in all they do.

We have just returned home and are now looking forward to the Fall, getting back to planning and seeking God’s wisdom. We excitedly await the NAU students as they return and come for the first time to this university. Please join us in prayer.

We just finished up the San Diego Express Summer Project. It was a quick few weeks with the 28 students from all over the country, but a powerful few weeks. We saw students grow in ways that will change the spiritual trajectory of their lives, helping them to live for eternal things instead of things of this world. And we saw those very students help people they met and shared the gospel with to think differently about Jesus and those who follow him, changing their faith-journeys as well. A small shift in degrees at one point in time makes a big difference when that line is extended out over a lifetime. It is God who makes people change and grow, but it is a joy to be part of it when He moves.

It was so much fun to hear the students share on the last night some of the memories and things they would take back home to their campuses with them.

• Under the category of first time experiences, some shared that it was their: first time sharing their faith; first time seeing someone receive Christ, first time on the West Coast, first time seeing the Ocean, first time not being afraid to share the Gospel.
• When asked about some things they learned, some shared that they enjoyed: learning how to listen to the Holy Spirit; learning what role God’s Word and The Spirit play in conjunction with one another in our spiritual growth and life; learning how to use tools that lead to spiritual conversations with strangers or friends (such as Soularium–photography-based discussion; and the Perspective cards–leading to a fun world-view discussion).
• When asked what they would remember, many shared how special the deep relational connectedness had been; many also mentioned some specific Evangelism experiences with interesting people they had met; one girl said getting baptized in Mission Bay (we had 4 students on project get baptized); a few also shared some of the analogies that our main speaker had used that really connected with them.

Jeremiah and I particularly enjoyed working with students who were hungry to learn and eager to do evangelism. They understood the Gospel enough to know that they really wanted to internalize it and make sharing it with others to be a more normal and consistent part of their lives.  It was exciting to see them more deeply grasp God’s heart for the nations and for broken people during our small group Bible studies, and wonderful to see them set aside fears and cultural barriers and speak the Gospel in love to strangers as they asked questions and listened to the perspectives and backgrounds of individuals in different parts of San Diego that we went to.

We will continue to pray for these special young people as they return to the many states they came from, several going back to movements that are entirely student led, where they will bring a renewed focus for reaching out to the lost with the Hope we have in Christ and through the Power of the Holy Spirit.

The students all arrived a couple days ago here in San Diego for the intensive 2 week summer project. We staff arrived several days earlier and began to pray for and prepare for their arrival. It is a fun group of staff, and an exciting group of students. We have students from all over the country (including MO, WI, WV, TX, CA, and AZ, among others).  It has been wonderful to see the students’ hunger to learn and grow and their willingness to be stretched by sharing their faith in many different ways and places around San Diego in the next two weeks.  It is also fun to see them bond with one another quickly–shared experience is powerful, especially when the group is wanting to function well together and speak into one anothers’ lives.  Two major focuses of this project are (1) learning about the person of the Holy Spirit and how we as followers of Christ can learn to walk in the Spirit on a day to day basis and (2) gaining confidence and skills in Evangelism, an essential part of living a joyful and fruitful Christian life. We are doing devotionals related to these things in the large group, in small groups, and in personal quiet times.  We are also doing training and learning by doing.  Jeremiah and I are thankful to be part of this project, and we pray that God moves in and through those here in powerful ways to build and expand His kingdom.

The kids are doing well, and enjoying playing with some of the other staff kids in the childcare times. Please pray for the students, staff, and staff kids that are here. Thanks!

I was waiting to do this post until I had pictures to post with it. But we are having trouble with our pictures at the moment. I will add some soon.

I (Lori) had a very special Mothers’ Day. The night before we had some students over and they surprised me with a “Super-Mom” cake.  It was my first “red velvet” cake.  I felt very honored and loved by them. It is a privilege to be able to pour into younger women and have them also really engage with us in the midst of our day to day family life. They know I am not a perfect mom, but hopefully they see me live out love, servanthood and humility as I imperfectly teach my children, respect my husband, and love my whole family, walking in the light of God’s grace and forgiveness toward me.

The day of Mothers’ Day was very special too. In the afternoon, we went on a family bike ride downtown and had fun walking around, getting some special treats at the chocolate shop, and watching a street performer (hula hoop specialist) in Heritage Square – the kids were mesmerized and had a lot of fun.

In the morning, my youngest little one (Judah), already 22 months old, was dedicated at church.  It was a special time. We feel very blessed and encouraged by our church, and particularly Pastor Cole.  I had shared some thoughts and a verse we picked for Judah with him beforehand, and he encouraged us and prayed for Judah in a beautiful way.

A dedication is an interesting thing, because it is much more about the parents than the children. I see it as a promise to raise our children in the light of the Gospel, pointing them to Christ with our whole lives, and asking the church body to hold us accountable and help us as we walk in this journey of parenthood. 

Jeremiah and I long for each of our children to be missionaries at heart, no matter what they do in life. Our prayer is that the reality of the gospel would sink so deeply in their lives that they walk in grace while seeking to be holy and that they would know that nothing is greater or more satisfying than being part of spreading the Good News and the Kingdom of God to the ends of the earth. 

For some reason, we both have felt that Judah may be uniquely called toward the mission, however.  Before he was even born, I felt that I needed to release him to the Lord in a unique way, even to go to a dangerous place if he feels so called when he gets older.  It may or may not happen—God knows the plans he has for Judah—and we release him fully to God either way. But we picked a verse accordingly.  Our verse for Judah is Philippians 1:20-21. We pray that he would say of himself, as Paul did, that “it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Judah already has so much personality. He is a joy to be around. He shows passion and focus already—at this age, about throwing and kicking balls (he can literally play ball for hours), tackling his siblings with big hugs, and being outside.  He also loves reading—how could he not with the siblings he has.  He makes us laugh all the time, and is picking up new words every day. We praise God for the privilege of raising this little boy.

So one of the hard parts about college ministry is you have to say goodbye to students that you have worked with for 4 years. This year we said good bye to one such student – Sara. She was with us when we were doing Lifelines and the past two years with Cru. God has done such a move in her life. She went from a freshman who never said anything in Bible study and who didn’t know how to have authentic relationships to a woman entering the Army with a desire to make an impact for Christ wherever she goes (praise the Lord!). Sara has also been special to us because of the way she has been so involved with our family–she has spent significant time with us and our kids love her very much. They are going to miss her tremendously.

This weekend we had the joy of spending the last couple days Sara had in Arizona with her before she headed off for her officer training in Virginia (taking a road trip out there with two of our other students).  It was a special time to just be together and encourage her with what we see in her as well as thank her for all she means to us.  She will be able to visit briefly in a few months before heading off to Korea, but this was her last days living in Flagstaff. We had some special meals together, went garage sale-ing for kids clothes (a Kepner favorite activity), and just hung out.  We praise God for her and trust that God will use her and direct her each step of the way in the coming years!

So this week is our last week with all the NAU students in Flagstaff. Next week is finals. We decided to make it a full week, and are having a sleepover for some students Friday, a fundraiser garage sale Saturday to raise funds for our students to go to Cru conferences next year (Thanks to all who donated items!), and then our end of the year BBQ and hang out Saturday afternoon/evening.  It will be fun!

We have also been enjoying meeting with the students we disciple and encouraging them with what we have seen in them this year and how they have grown.  We are challenging students to make a plan for their summers so as to not be passive about their walk with the Lord during that time that can get away from us and can cause students in particular to fall into old unhealthy patterns spiritually. So you can be praying for them as many of them head home for the summer.  We could also use some prayers for some relational drama going on within our group. It is interesting how much Satan tries to pull things down that God is building up.  It is a good thing we know who is sovereign and who already has the ultimate victory!

Some of you may know that we have been on a bit of a journey with our oldest son Isaiah in recent months. He was having some emotional and social challenges at school (he is in Kindergarten) and we began to question if he would need some special education help. We made a decision with his teachers to pursue an evaluation through the school system, wondering if he might have Aspergers. The results of that evaluation indicate that he is not eligible for special education, as he does not fully display those characteristics.  But it did help us understand more about the basis for his frustration and difficulties at school. Isaiah has an extraordinary ability to reason and process complex concepts. He is extremely intelligent, but his emotional maturity and dexterity are those of a typical child his age. This creates tremendous frustration for him. He is also a perfectionist, and so is frustrated by his limitations and inability to produce what he pictures in his head.

We are now on the journey of really trying to understand how he thinks and learns best, and figuring out how to challenge him and help him grow in a healthy way.  This chart (at the bottom of the linked page) that describes the difference between a bright/high achiever child and a “gifted” child has been helpful to me, particularly since I was a classic high achiever as a kid.  I can certainly have the tendency to think the compliance (for lack of a better word) displayed by the high achiever is better (which just displays the reality that the sin of pride follows closely behind a high achiever – I can speak from experience, as it has long been a key sin area in my life).  But gifted children think differently and experience life differently than most of us do—just fitting in is not easy.  I am learning the great benefits and great challenges that come from having a child on the other side of the chart, and I am thankful that God gave me a child that is going to teach me so much as we walk together in this journey.  I have already learned so much from him.

We realized that the Montessori method of learning was not helpful for Isaiah at all.  We respect it tremendously, but somehow that school environment caused Isaiah severe stress that resulted in the social and behavioral problems.  So we pulled him out of the Montessori Charter school he was at and are home schooling him while we try to figure out what kind of school environment would be best for him.  It is amazing how much more at peace he is now—I don’t know why we didn’t see it sooner.

So it is a journey indeed. I have no delusions that my child is “better” than any other child.  The label “gifted” is a weird one, and I am not using it so people say “oh, good for you…”  Rather, I am just sharing my life and my thoughts—the thought of it all produces more fear and uncertainty in me because I don’t want him to founder in life. Just like any mother wants for her child, I just want to help Isaiah flourish in the talents God has given him. He is a unique child, just as my other two are incredibly unique and special.

With each of our children, we are also continually seeking to implant the Gospel deep in their hearts, so they experience God’s love and place their identity in the Lord, and so they can live out God’s incredible selfless love that motivates us to put the interests of others above our own (Philippians 2:3-4).  Doing so will bring deep and lasting joy and will bring glory to God–something selfish ambition can never do.

You may have heard about our difficulties at Vanderbilt as a religious student organization that wants to ensure the integrity of our religious message and purpose by requiring that our student leaders believe in our message and the beliefs that underlie it. The University’s constant line is that they want to “end discrimination” and yet they don’t seem to see that it is discrimination to prohibit the primary means by which religious groups are able to preserve their voices and identities.  It has been difficult for our staff there (and myself as their counsel) because we want to affirm that we hate discrimination, that we want to welcome any student from any background to participate and that we want to share the message of hope found in Christ with them. Yet we believe that diversity is best accomplished when different student clubs are able to strongly and articulately represent differing viewpoints and are able to preserve those perspectives over the years (through a leadership committed to upholding them).  In light of these realities, Cru at Vanderbilt has decided not to comply with Vanderbilt’s policy at this point in time.

Here is an article sharing more about the “why” behind our decision that I wrote up for the Cru at Vanderbilt blog.

And here is another blog post from our InterVarsity colleagues at Vanderbilt that clarifies why the policy is of concern. The University is not just asking that anyone can apply for leadership; they are requiring that our groups not have any qualifications for leadership that are grounded in faith/belief criteria.

NEW UPDATE: There is a bill going through the Tennessee legislature that may force Vanderbilt’s hand a bit too. I am keeping my eye on it, and curious to see how it all plays out. Our staff are not sure how to take all these things in, and really don’t want to be constantly at odds with the University—they just want to maintain the integrity of the group and keep serving the student body there.

On a separate note: Interestingly, because we as Cru so strongly value being present and being a light in dark places in this country and around the world, we are making choices in some places to work within a framework similar to the one at Vanderbilt, even though it is not ideal. As is explained in the blog post linked above, we believe that the BEST way to preserve our voice is to have faith-based leadership requirements. But at a growing number of schools, we are being forced to use performance-based criteria for those applying for leadership, seeking to make sure they know what our organization is about and are willing to pursue the group’s purpose, whether or not they “believe” in it. We are praying that the focus on performance at these schools will not take away from the message of grace, hope and unconditional love that is the heart of the gospel message we proclaim, and that God will be glorified through our continued presence on these college campuses around the country.

A couple weekends ago we had our FlagCru Spring Retreat.  The original plan was to go camping, but plans changed when we saw that a snow storm was headed our way.  We were able to find a church in Prescott (about and hour and a half away) that was super generous in letting us use their fellowship hall to stay in and have our retreat.  We were so blessed to be able to stay there. Because it was so stormy, we mostly stayed indoors and had our devotionals and played games. 

The theme the students who planned it selected was “Revival.”  I (Lori) really enjoyed sharing Saturday night about Revival as a process that starts in our hearts individually, and moves outward to impact others in expanding circles.  I shared some scripture and stories and then left them with four questions to spend some time praying and journaling about.  1) Am I hungry/Thirsty? (Ps 63:1-4); 2) Am I willing to humble myself and seek God’s face? 3) Are I willing to respond to conviction? Titus 2:11-14, Js 5:16 (seeing sin for what it is and asking God to help us remove anything we are doubtful about); 4) Will I ask for and do big things in response? (praying for God to move, and being willing to do whatever it takes to respond and glorify Him with my whole self).

After some amazing worship time led by a friend in Prescott, we split off guys and gals and the women had a great sharing time.  I love seeing women open up, and although it is hard to hear of some of the pain in their past and present experiences, it is often right in that pain that God is able to do the most work of transformation.

Finally, Sunday, we were able to finish off the retreat by seeing one of our new believers from this year get baptized. It was exciting to hear him share his testimony and to remember just how much God has transformed him and is building him up.  He is going to be our MC next year for our Cru meetings and is already taking seriously the call to live a life honoring to God. Although he comes with almost no spiritual background and a long-time habit of partying, he recently committed to not drinking anymore and said he is more joyful than ever. Jeremiah was able to close off that time encouraging the students to live, not for mountaintop experiences like retreats, but with a steady fire under us that comes from living with God’s Word and genuine fellowship as part of our daily lives.

God is at work changing hearts and lives and we Praise Him!  Please do pray that these students continue to grow, and that God will raise several of them up for leadership in this ministry.

So a lot of time has passed since mid-March, when Jeremiah helped lead a trip to the Dominican Republic for UofA and NAU students.  It was his 6th time in country for ministry, and it was great to re-connect with the STINT team that he had visited on a coaching trip in the Fall.  I (Lori) did not go this time (after having helped lead the previous two Spring Break trips), but it was good to be able to pray for them from home. We had 3 NAU students go, and there were about 9 UofA students, along with several staff.

The trip turned out well. Many of the US students were young spiritually, so it was a very stretching experience for them.  In order to bless the student ministry there in Santo Domingo at UASD (the HUGE university there), each person in our group focused on really getting to know a few Dominican students, having in-depth spiritual conversations with them that included some basics of the faith and how to grow as a Christian, and then seeking to connect them socially to the Dominican Cru movement there (called Vida Estudiantil).  It was exciting to see God at work in Dominican students and US students through the trip.

Star, one of our students, has been taking intensive Spanish this semester, and loved engaging with the students about the very things that are most dear to her heart. She came back interested in pursuing missions in Latin America for a year or so after she graduates.  Another of our students, Dylan–who grew up in a Christian home–seemed to finally internalize the gospel for himself as he did ministry there and spoke with Jeremiah.  He is transformed, experiencing the joy of the Lord for real for the first time, and we are so excited to see his heart for God and God’s work continue to grow.

Please continue to pray for the Dominican movement at UASD!