The Stromwall's

Leah Elbert Testimony from CO Minneapolis on Vimeo.

We spent a weekend at Camp Shamineau with students who will be leading our Summer Training Project.  Below, meet our Room Leaders, Team Leaders, A- Team, and Student Project Directors!  Quite the lovely bunch, no?   So, the funny thing about being a leader as a Christian is… that… its totally not like the cultural perception of “leader.”  In a lot of ways, a leader seems like someone who has it all together, someone who has reached a certain level of expertise, someone who does a great job at a lot of things and is able to tell other people what to do.  But, for the believer, the bible compares being a leader to being servant-hearted and full of humility, rather than seeking power and dominance.  One of the goals we pitched to our student leaders was this:  To fail and fail publicly.  Sort of a weird angle to throw at our leaders… but, let’s roll with it.  Its not some cruel joke to want them to fail in public so people can point fingers and laugh.  What it is getting at is that the believer is FREE to fail.  And its OK to share the ways you fall short in front of the students you are leading.  It creates some of the best teachable moments that could radically help the student disciples going.  If the cross is big for a leader, its big for their followers.  If the cross is small for a leader, the followers will likely not see the beauty of grace and the glorious truth than in light of our falling short of God’s glory, we are freed by the gift of Jesus life and death.   For the believer, failure is…oddly enough… the most powerful way God can use you. Pray for us personally, our staff team and student leaders to cling to this promise in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

If you’ve ever been to our apartment, you might not believe me when I tell you that 18 sweet freshman women from the U came over for dinner this past Wednesday night.  Here is the proof!  We might have to do this again, it was a blast!

Can you believe they all fit? A few girls missed the pic...

Eating my fabulous cooking (of course!) p.s. Cous Cous feeds a large crowd quite excellently along with my mom's homemade salsa and chicken!

Who says you can't use a piano bench for a table?

These lovely ladies had the luxury of eating at our 'real' table. Also the table that traveled with me through all of my years living at the U... wood is peeling off... no biggie, you just gotta be careful not to get a sliver

It was a cozy night to say the least. I love these girls!

“Coming into my freshman year of college I was ready to experience life: to live for my own enjoyment and put Christianity on hold until a more convenient time. I have struggled with drinking and partying since I was 16, but at college I began to feel that what I thought would be more exciting was becoming more and more empty. I felt trapped in the cycle of desperately trying to fill the gaping hole in my life with alcohol, guys, my outward appearance, the approval of others and whatever else I could use to escape from my depressing reality.

However, God was working in my life even in this time. One night Katie Stromwall was in Territorial Hall and happened to come into my dorm. My roommate and I like her right away and were inspired by her transparency and love for us, even though we hardly knew her. Kate left for training for quite awhile but had been praying the entire time that God would move in T-hall. Meanwhile, I remained in my empty cycle, feeling more and more low each weekend. Continue reading

U of M Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors & Staff

We just got home from our leader’s retreat!  We had about 55 students from the U of M come together to talk about vision for how to love, serve, and come alongside the people on our campus.  We get a glimpse of what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus after his death when his disciples set out on a mission to make this amazing gift of salvation through Christ known in the cities and contexts in which they were living.  Continue reading

Came across this blog post, Can discipleship – relationship – life on life really happen online?

http://donteatthefruit.com/2009/04/internet-anonymity-like-loin-cloths-and-aa-can-be-a-means-of-grace/