Concerning Transitions

First off, thank you so much for joining me through this last year as partners in my ministry to students at the University of New Mexico. I would not have even made it to campus without your support. You have all been so generous and so faithful, which has allowed me to focus in on the students that I have been blessed to work with.

I want to share with you a couple of exciting stories that stand out from this last year. The first is a student that got connected with us this past spring whose name is Aaron. Aaron’s roommate this past year was one of the first freshman I met on campus, and I got along with both Aaron and his roommate really well right away. They both joined my Bible study in the Fall, and Aaron stuck with me through the Spring semester. I think part of the reason I enjoyed having Aaron around was that he reminded me of myself in a lot of way. He had also grown up in a Christian home, and was looking to get connected with a Christian ministry, and similar to me, Aaron came in with a desire to follow Jesus and share his faith with his friends, but lacked some of the tools and confidence to do so. Through the Bible study I led, Aaron and two other guys (Keenan and Ruben) were able to study God’s word and learn a lot about Jesus through the book of Mark. This summer Aaron joined three other UNM students and about 70 other students from the Rocky Mountain Region at the Summer Training Program that I helped staff. It is so fun to watch guys like Aaron experience the explosive growth that happens at one of these programs. Aaron was even able to start talking with some of his co-workers about the Bible and after this expressed a desire to talk about his faith with students at UNM. I am so excited to hear about what God is going to do through Aaron back on campus this fall at UNM, and very sad that I will not get to be there to be a part of it.

Another neat story comes from one of the guys that I worked with this summer. Daniel and I were (seemingly randomly) paired together as he was one of the student team leaders for the summer program. However, it was definitely not a coincidence that Daniel and I were paired together. Even though Daniel and I come from very different backgrounds, we immediately connected and it seemed that every time he would be struggling with something, it paralleled something that I had been through in the past. It is joy to work with guys like Daniel that are eager to learn and grow and are taking their faith with God seriously, on their own. Daniel and I got to talk about some really important questions, like: Is God good, and more importantly is He good to me? Can I trust God’s promises? How do these spiritual truths impact my day-to-day situations? By helping Daniel through these questions and others I was challenged to re-examine my own beliefs in these areas and to firm up my reasoning behind my beliefs. Seeing the growth in both Daniel and Aaron is the reason I know that God used me this past year in other people’s lives. And I am excited to see in this upcoming year how the experiences that I have had this past year have shaped me, and how God will use me in the lives of others.

I want to take some time now to explain the upcoming transition. I am very excited that on August 4th, I started medical school classes! I am very excited and nervous for this transition, but I trust that it will be an adventure. I know that I will continue to need your support in prayer, as this will surely be one of the hardest things I have done. Even in the first week I am seeing the increase in the amount of information that I will be expected to know is significant. I will do my best to keep updating my blog with my experiences in medical school. I am sure there will be plenty of stories to pass on as I begin this new stage of life.

I have another exciting opportunity coming up as well. I have been invited to continue on as Navigator staff through another ministry called Nav Fusion. The vision of Nav Fusion ties in with an exciting part of the Navigators vision to have “laborers next door to everywhere”. This allows part time Navigator staff to go to places where there are not full time staff. By sending in this way, the message of the Bible goes to more people, which ultimately fulfills the mission statement of “Knowing Christ and Making Him Known”. I have been invited to stay on in a position called Associate Staff. The expectation will be that I spearhead a Bible study and continue meeting with a couple people to mentor them, similar to the relationship I had with Aaron and Daniel mentioned above. This is something that I am hoping to continue regardless, but that would be much harder without the support that I will receive. To do this I would like to maintain a small level of financial support, which will all go to help with ministry expenses and travel to conferences. One example of this is the Physician’s conference run by the Navigators every Spring. This is an opportunity to learn from some older doctors about what it looks like to follow Jesus in the context of practicing medicine.

If this sounds exciting to you, I am asking a few people to continue supporting me, as my ministry focus shifts from undergraduates at the University of New Mexico to medical students at the University of North Dakota. Since I will no longer be receiving a paycheck, I am only hoping to maintain $200-300 per month in support. This will go partly to monthly ministry expenses and will also go to help scholarship some students to conferences, which will help dramatically when it comes to convincing poor medical students to attend. I understand that some of you will not be interested in continuing to financially support me, so if this is you, please go through your Navigator account or ask me to discontinue any automatic gifts. Please feel free to ask any questions that you have about this transition, and remember, there are no bad questions!

I also encourage you to contact Jake Slabaugh (jakeslabaugh2.8@gmail.com) or Ethan Kooyenga (ethankooyenga@hotmail.com) to continue receiving updates and to continue supporting what God is doing at the University of New Mexico. Both of these guys were instrumental to the success of this past year, and are returning in the Fall to continue working with students there.

Again, thank you so much for your support (through prayer and financially) through this past year! It is so encouraging to have had you on my team and to have partnered with you through this incredibly impactful and influential time in my life. You are all a blessing to me, and I hope to stay in contact with you through the upcoming years!

School’s out for summer!

What a ride?!? This summer has been flying by, and there is so much happening. In case you can’t remember (it’s been a while since I posted last), this summer I am staffing a Summer Training Program with the Navigators in beautiful Granby, CO (See photo below). About 70 students from colleges in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico have gathered for 8 weeks to grow in their faith and get better equipped to make an impact at their campuses in the Fall. God has done huge things through this program in the past, myself included, and this summer is no exception. We are currently in our fourth week, but it still feels like we started a couple days ago. It has been a joy to grow with students and team leaders in studying the Bible, memorizing scripture, and even sharing our faith in the surrounding towns. I have the privilege of working with two fantastic team leader men, and it is amazing to see how God is working in them, and in the guys on their teams that they are helping.

The view from our staff housing for the summer, near the YMCA

Aside from mentoring two team leaders, one of my big responsibilities is for a large group event called Super Tuesday. This past week we had over 115 people attend. These people include: the students in our program, other students that work at the YMCA from around the nation, as well as several international students. It is great to see this group of young people learning about Jesus and growing together with others from such varied backgrounds.

Our first meeting of the summer (I am barely visible on the far right)

I would ask that you be praying for me in a couple of very important areas over the next several weeks:

First, that I would be able to invest well in the Team leader guys that I am mentoring, and that they would be able to then help the guys on their team. As we are near the halfway point in the program many of the students are feeling worn down, but more importantly it is easy to feel overwhelmed and frustrated. All of the student members work 40 hours a week, in addition to the program requirements. Would you pray that these students look to God for energy and motivation to keep working hard and to push through, especially when it gets tough?

Also, would you pray for me, as I will be making the move to Grand Forks, ND by the end of this month to begin medical school. I was able to line up some things (like housing) during a quick trip in May, but there are still a lot of small details that need to be worked out before I start school. I want to stay fully engaged at the program, and not spend too much time on future things that I cannot control. I am also part of a summer class to get a refresher on some of the tougher undergraduate classes I took. Would you pray that I might be diligent to finish that class in the midst of a busy schedule?

An end, a beginning, and the stuff in between

This is it! My last week at UNM starts now. It is still surreal to think that so soon I will be leaving the people and campus that I love so dearly. As I am taking some time to reflect, I am also preparing for my “Last Lecture”. I have the opportunity to address our last Nav Night on Wednesday to humbly pass on the lessons that I have learned over of the past years. One thing that I hope to pass on is the importance of priorities. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says to his followers, “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (physical needs) will be given to you as well” (parentheses mine). It is important to not only have good priorities, but to know your priorities and evaluate them. As I look back on my college years, I am glad I had people in my life to help me choose right priorities, as well as challenge me when I was not living according to my stated priorities.

As I am wrapping up the school year, I am both saddened and excited. I am incredibly sad to be leaving my New Mexico family. A lot has happened in my time here, and I am so very grateful for this past year of ministry. Spending a year investing in college students is one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling things I have ever done. Seeing growth in the guys I am meeting with one-on-one, the guys in my Bible study, and everyone in our ministry encourages me that UNM will be just fine without me. This leads me into the excitement coming up in my future. For anyone that doesn’t know, I will be working with students this summer in Colorado at the regional Summer Training Program (STP). This starts at the end of the month and will take me through the end of July when I move to Grand Forks, North Dakota to begin medical school. I have been greatly impacted by STPs in the past, attending as both a student member and student leader. This summer I will have the opportunity to work as Navigator staff discipling (mentoring) the student leaders, as well as helping the program to run smoothly for everyone.

Spending a summer in the beautiful Colorado mountains may be one of the easiest sacrifices I have made to date, but it does mean that I will be sticking with the Navigators about as long as possible. Thanks to many of you, I am in a great spot financially to finish well, but I would ask that you continue and even increase your prayer for me. I know this summer it could be easy to mentally transition to medical school prep mode, but this is not what I want! I want to give the students, and my fellow staff, my best. So would you all support me through your prayer that details for my move and transition to medical school work themselves out, so that those things are not pressing on my mind. I also want to give you all the unfortunate news that I do not have plans to return to California until the end of the calendar year. Because of my summer assignment, and a quick five day trip to ND to set up housing and finalize some details for my upcoming move I will be staying east of the Rockies through the summer. You are always welcome to contact me with questions, concerns, or encouragements via: calls, emails, texts, letters, carrier pigeons, and smoke signals (though something might be lost in translation with this method as Albuquerque Springs bring gusting wind). On that note, I am planning on sending out a physical letter soon so if for any reason you think I might need an updated/ current address please follow the link and fill out the form: Address Form.

I am very thankful for you all!

Notes on Laboring

Hello!

It has been a crazy month since I last wrote. We have been working hard to get the Spring semester started off well. Since I last posted we completed our Spring semester kick off retreat, got Nav nights going again, kicked off this semester’s Bible studies, completed the first weeks of our student leadership training series, and are gearing up for our annual Spring conference.

Thanks so much for your prayers for our Spring kickoff retreat. We had most of our key student leaders join us and had a great time of preparation and planning for the upcoming semester. Nav nights are going really well this semester so far as well. We are doing a series titled “Jesus is _____”. Each week the speaker presents an attribute that Jesus displayed while on earth and then shares with the students how they might follow suit. I was able to speak one of the nights and presented on Jesus is a Healer. This is surely not surprising to many of you, but what I focused on is likely not what you imagined. I shared with the students the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man, but focused instead on Jesus’ statement “Son, your sins are forgiven.” In each of the stories where Jesus heals someone physically, he first heals them spiritually. The physical healing is most importantly a physical sign of this spiritual truth. What an amazing thing that Jesus recognizes this vastly more important need in our lives and takes the initiative to reach out to us in both the way we want most and the way we need most. I then challenged students that as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, we are then to be ambassadors of Christ’s healing, sharing how He has healed us and extending the offer to those we come into contact with. I hope this is an encouragement to you and that you may see the stories of Jesus healing in a new light!

I want to ask for prayer for this upcoming weekend for our annual Spring conference, called the Laborer’s conference (Named for Matthew 9:35-38). We will be taking 12 students in addition to our complete staff team. Praise the Lord for so many students being willing and able to dedicate a weekend to their spiritual growth and encouragement. Pray for our safety on the long (~7 hour) drive, as well as for the conference itself that it would run smoothly. Also, pray for our staff team as we will be spending an extra week in Colorado for additional training. I am so excited for what God is going to do this weekend! Thanks for your prayers!

Cameron

Looking back to look forward

I began working on this post at the end of the past semester, but because of the busyness of the holidays was not able to get it edited until now. I hope that it will be an encouragement to you as the new year begins and I want to start it off by thanking those of you that have been an important part of my experience so far. Your support (in prayer and financially) means so much to me as this past semester has been both a joy and a struggle.

Coming into this past year I had many expectations for what ministry would be like, and almost none of them have come true. I’m sure many of you have had this same experience, whether with a new job, a new school, or even a change of roles in any organization with which you are involved. Coming into this year, I expected that I would maintain the roles I was already filling and expand a little to account for the fact that I was now full-time staff. I sure was wrong! Yet in the best possible way. One of the persistent themes of the semester has been the perspective shifts that accompany transitioning into full time collegiate ministry. I was heartened to hear early on from experienced staff that this was normal, even expected in first year Edger’s (as we’re fond of referring to ourselves). Even though I will be starting medical school in August, this training is not in vain as this year has already proved to be great preparation to use that as a mission field.

I want to look at an example from the motto of another Navigators ministry, the 20’s Mission. This ministry is geared toward college grads entering the workforce (which I hope to connect with after this year). They have a motto that I think encompasses one of the major goals of collegiate ministry, “Give you life away”. This is something we hope we are passing on to our students, and is something that I connect with in a new way after this year. I like the way this is worded, because it summons thoughts of presenting our life as a gift. It is either something we can horde for ourselves, or that we can give away (which I might add, is the intention of a gift). Gifts are never meant to stay with the giver, and because they are bought with the recipient in mind, it wouldn’t make any sense for the giver to keep it. As cheesy as it may sound, I would encourage you to think about your life, not as a gift for you, but a gift from you to others.

I believe these lessons, among many others I am learning this year, will continue to be useful for the rest of my life. I trust that God has me in this year of ministry not just for the students that I will impact, but also as further preparation for my own future. To give an update on students, we have about 40 that have been regularly connected with us, which is one of the biggest groups we’ve had in recent years. God has also blessed us with several students that are excited about leadership and we ran an 8 week leadership training course to help these students grow (we will be running another of these in the Spring).

Thanks for your continued prayer! It was a blessing seeing many of you over these past few weeks! Look for another post coming soon where I will share about some of the exciting things we have coming up this next semester.

PS- If you would like to give, contact me, go to Navigators.org and search for my name, or to give to things like the leadership training search for the “University of New Mexico”.