Merry Christmas!

Enough said!

National Collegiate Conference | The Navigators

Back in late October, Lindsay and I had the privilege of spending 6 days in Destin, Florida (on the pan handle) to attend our Navigators National Collegiate Conference (once every 4 years). We love these type of conferences, because they always remind us of the greater vision and work of God's Kingdom on the college campus. I can be easy to loose sight of this vision as we get into the day-to-day work. It was also a wonderful time of relaxation, rest, beach time (boogie boarding & body surfing), and taking in the warm weather while we could ; )

Part of my (Matt's) responsibilities while we were there was to help train the younger staff in regards to ministry with The Navigators. We had a wonderful brief time with a few different 'classes' of these young Navigators staffers who are involved the full-time short-term program called the EDGE Corps (1-2 year collegiate ministry experience). These young staff are the future generations of The Navigators, but more importantly the future laborers in the Lord's harvest! Above is a photo of all of them.

Thank you so much for praying and laboring with us to see more workers raised up in the harvest (Matthew 9:35-39)!

Here a few more photos from our time in Florida.

This guy here, and the gal below, and some good friends of ours who are also on staff with The Navigators.

The beach was beautiful!

*Special Funding Update*

*Our latest email update*

Dear Friends,

I write to you in great thanksgiving and praise, as well as in need.

When Lindsay and I think of you, we are greatly encouraged and humbled. Your partnership in ministry has been and continues to be invaluable to the advancement of the Gospel at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. You have “helped us on our way” (Romans 15:24), and we are so grateful for that. You have labored along side of us in the Lord’s harvest fields at Cornell through your faithful prayer and financial partnership. You have fought the battle, shoulder to shoulder with us, as you interced for us and for the students to whom we minister. Thank you. The words of Paul to the Philippians resonate deeply with us whenever we think of you:

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now"Philippians 1:3-5

There are numerous stories that we could tell of how Christ’s Kingdom is advancing at Cornell University. I could tell you about Jessica and her Investigative Bible Discussion (IBD) among her fellow teammates, who don’t know Christ, on the crew (rowing) team. Or I could share about Mallory, who has yet to trust Christ, in Lindsay’s weekly Bible study who loves to come, dive into the Bible, ask great questions, and give great answers. Or I could tell stories of our energetic, loving, and eager new class of freshmen.

Your labor in ministry with us has been key to the advancement of the Gospel here among Cornell students. We are humbled, grateful, and hopeful as we continue to seek to live and disciple among the lost here in Ithaca, NY!

Even as I write, we are currently on “Fund-raising Assignment”. Our account is currently in deficit, and we have been required to shift our focus from ministry on the campus to primarily on fund-raising. To minimize the growth of the deficit our salary will be decreased by 25% as well. The Navigators have these guidelines in place for our long-term financial stability and health in ministry.

We have yet to reach our full budget goal, we are at 89% for this academic year. That leaves about $9,000 left to raise. Our deficit is partly due to outstanding & year-end pledges, some that are coming in. Also, November was a very lean month for donor income, only about have half of what we needed came into our account.

Our vision and desire is to be on campus at Cornell in full capacity, to see the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom advanced there, through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling among the lost! We are currently unable to do that without the adequate financial partnership. We need your prayers.

Please pray with us for:

1. The Lord to move hearts to bring in a wide response from our end of the year funding letter (sent 3 weeks ago).
2. The Lord to connect us with new prayer & financial partnering churches and individuals who are excited about the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom.
3. The Lord to provide continued and increased financial partnership in ministry.
4. The Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom to advance at Cornell University and beyond!

*If you, or someone else you know (feel free to forward them this post), would like to give right now you can do so easily and quickly online at The Navigators website (gifts of any and all sizes are welcome, one-time or recurring, via Credit Card, Debit Card, or Checking Account):

To Donate Click Here (type “kinnick” to search for us)

For other ways to partner with us financially, see the bottom of this email.

Thanks for rolling up your sleeves and wading into the harvest fields with us,

Matt & Lindsay

*Names have been changed to protect confidentiality

'Tis The Season!

We had our first snow in downtown Ithaca that stuck, today! We are feeling especially in the mood of Christmas. Christmas cookies baking, Christmas music playing, and craving some egg nog.

We hope you are all enjoying this wonderful time of year (whether you have snow or not).

Thanks for being with us!

M&L

09 Fall Campus Photos

Here are some fun photos I snapped with my phone over the last few weeks. Enjoy. This is a beautiful time of year. Click here to view the rest.

First 2 Weeks Over

The dust has settled. Orientation week is now behind us. The freshmen are begin to settle into their schedules & routines. They have just finished their first full week of classes.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts & prayers during this busy & crucial time for us. Our fall launch went efficiently and smoothly. Some unpleasant details & red tape got worked out, and we connected with several eager first year students!

A quick recap ...

√ Orientation Week ("O Week") - August 21-30

√ Sunday, August 23 - Freshmen "Block Party"

Our sophomores came out strong for this one! We did a bunch of spiritual interest surveys (gauging the freshmen interest in reading the Bible). We gave out freezie-pops and gave out cards with info of our events during "O Week".

√ Tuesday, August 25 - Noon-3pm, Cornell Christian Fellowship Fair

We hung out in the beautiful, sunny, blue-skied day handing out more spiritual interest surveys and connecting with those that we had already seen that previous Sunday at the Block Party. Great weather; great turn out! Lots more surveys taken, and freezie-pops given out. An excellent turn out from our returning sophomores & juniors.

√ 4:30-5:30pm, Survey Follow-Up

We had a great group of motivated & excited sophomores come out with us to call up the freshmen we surveyed who recorded an interest in reading the Bible, etc! Unfortunately, the university had some freshmen events scheduled that we did not anticipate, but we still were able to connect with a few & give them our Nav backpacks with free stuff in them (i.e. playing card, new testament, candy, etc).

√ Wednesday, August 26 - 4pm, Ultimate Frisbee Game

We didn't have as many surveyed students show up as we had hoped. But it was a great opportunity to meet random freshmen interested in playing! We also had a good turn out from sophomore and junior students.

√ 7:30-Midnight, Survey Follow-up & Movie Night

Jeff (not his real name), whom I have been discipling for the last year, and I got together on Tuesday and planned a movie night with root beer floats for Wednesday night. We followed up surveys with another good crew and were able to connect with several freshmen men & women! And later that night we had 9 freshmen come to our movie night! Very encouraging.

√ Friday, August 28 - First Nav-Night

We had about 15 freshmen show up! Doug (campus director) spoke on The Navigator's calling statement, "To advance the gospel of Jesus and His kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of laborers, living and discipling among the lost". Afterwards, we ate desserts provided by other Nav students, hung out and talked, and most students went down to an upperclassmen's apartment and we played the game Scene-it!. At this point we were a little shocked at how much these same freshmen have continued to show up at!

√ Saturday, August 29 - Ultimate Frisbee & Malts

Pretty simple, we played frisbee, and then got malts & milkshakes from a local joint. Not a lot of surveyed freshmen, but lots of random freshmen and a good turnout from upperclassmen.

√ Fast forward to Friday, September 6 - 2nd Nav-Night

I (Matt) spoke on the topic of "Lordship" from Luke 6:46-49. Our theme verse for the semester is from Colossians, the epistle that we will be studying all semester in our Bible studies:

(Sorry about the awkward photo; but you get the idea.)

Colossians 2:6-7 "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." NIV We have our Nav-Night topics all extracted from this verse to guide our semester.

Thank you all, again, so much for laboring with us in prayer for Cornell, and specifically this incoming freshmen class! We are so encouraged to have a team of co-laborers wading into the harvest fields with us. We certainly have felt your prayers and the Lord's hand with us in these last few weeks.

M&L

P.S. Remember the raffle we were doing for the $100 gift card to Target, by guessing how many pieces of candy were in the jar? Well, the winner was only off by 1! There were 1,275 pieces of candy in the jar.

Freshmen Block Party

We just had our first official event in regards to Orientation Week ("O" Week) last night. From 5-7pm we had our Cornell Navigators table setup where we handed out "30 second spiritual interest surveys". These consist of a few questions about their views/interest concerning God, Jesus, and a Bible discussion/study.

To encourage the students in these surveys, we are raffling off a $100 gift card to Target. The winner will be chosen sometime next week probably. They enter the raffle by taking the survey and guessing how much candy is in a jar. The person closest to the correct number of pieces wins the gift card. Oh yeah, and we give each person an ice-pop for free too!

I'm not sure how many surveys we filled out last night, but it was a lot! It was wonderful & exciting to see our sophomore students (who were freshmen last year) jump right into the middle of things and ask people to fill out our surveys. They have a great energy and motivation that we are encouraged by and thank God for!

Here is our schedule for this week; please pray with us and for us over these!

Monday, August 24 (Today)
3:45pm-5:30pm - We will be visiting surveyed students at their dorms, inviting them to events this week and giving them a bag of free stuff

7pm-10pm - Our student leadership team will meet together to plan and pray, as well as have some ice cream

Tuesday, August 25
Noon-3pm - The Cornell Christian Fellowship Fair will be held; this is where all the Christian fellowships at Cornell have a BBQ to encourage the incoming freshmen to plug into a community of believers (this is a huge time for surveys for us)
7 pm-8pm - We will be following up freshmen surveys again

Wednesday, August 26
2pm-4pm - We will try to get some freshmen together to play ultimate or football with us, to further connect with those surveyed and build friendships
6pm - Dinner at campus dining hall to reconnect with other returning Nav students
7pm-8pm - We will continue to follow up more surveys

Thursday, August 27 - First Day of Classes
7pm-8pm - We will continue to follow up more surveys

Friday, August 28
7:30pm - Our first Nav-Night of the year

Saturday, August 29
Do some fun activity to further connect with surveyed freshmen and build deeper friendships

All these points of contact with the freshmen, and other students, are great opportunities to have impromptu discussions about faith, Jesus, religion, etc; and to build relationships of trust and understanding! Please pray with us and for us, that the Lord would make us keen observers (attentive to His Spirit), attentive listeners, loving and serving boldly, and speaking clearly the good news of Jesus and His beautiful gospel; letting our speech "always be gracious, seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:2-6).

Here are some photos from the Block Party last night (Sunday, Aug. 23):

Some of our sophomores and juniors helping out with surveys. I (Matt) am holding the candy jar over my head so those around being surveyed can see it to make a guess.

Some of our sophomore and junior women helping out.

Junior guys.

Our Navigator campus director on the left, Doug, behind our table at the Block Party. Our other staff woman is to Doug's left, handing out surveys and ice-pops.

August Email Update

M&L @ Cornell | 08/21/09

Dear Friends,

We are gearing up here for the Fall Launch at Cornell University! Today, first year students and their parents began ascending up the hill to Cornell by the hundreds. North campus, where all the freshmen live for their first year, is an absolute mad-house, as usual.

This academic year gives us much excitement for several reasons ...

√ Orientation Leaders from our Nav students have returned and are involved today and all next week with the first year students! They are helping out, serving, directing, and encouraging the students and their families during this key transition. Please pray with us that the Lord will strategically use these students to connect with believing and non-believing students alike, and that the gospel would advance through relationships!

√ We have six or so Nav students that are particularly excited & motivated to be actively involved during these next crucial few weeks of Orientation at Cornell! We will be surveying freshmen at our info. tables concerning their general spiritual beliefs (hoping to plug them into Bible studies, etc), giving out freezy-pops & info. cards with our event times, and (Lord willing) connect with spiritually thirsty freshmen. Please pray with us that as we bring these students along with us into the dorms and around campus, that the Lord would appoint divine meetings for us, and help our upperclassmen catch the vision for making disciples!

Thank the Lord with us ...

√ For our eager students excited to jump into this new year in all its aspects

√ For Lindsay and I having the privilege to rest this summer before the fall semester

√ For His provision of strength and energy this summer

√ For the privilege to continue to walk toward Christ with these freshmen turned sophomores

√ For 83% of our budget goal pledged

Petition the Lord with us ...

√ For believing & non-believing students to connect with our Nav staff & students (ministry)

√ For opportunities to share the grace & truth of Jesus and His gospel (John 1:14)

√ For servant hearts & gracious attitudes/words/actions etc (Mark 10:45; Colossians 4:2-6)

√ For our students to catch the vision & heart of making disciples on campus (Matthew 9:35-37)

√ For 100% of our budget goal (Romans 8:32) - we still need another $975 in monthly support

Paul says it best for us: "I thank my God every time I remember you, in all of my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now ..." Philippians 1:3-5 NIV We praise God for you and your partnership! Thank you.

We look forward to keeping you updated with the exciting events over the next few weeks!

M&L

Email Update | 07/31/09

Dear Friends,

We hope that you are having a wonderful summer. I know it can be busy, so hopefully you have had or will have a chance to slow down a bit and unwind.

Lindsay and I have been having a wild yet fun summer. We spent 6 weeks on the road, back in MN, partly in Iowa with Lindsay's family, partly in Colorado Springs for coaching other staff, and partly in Canada for fishing! Ever since July 2nd, we have been very glad to be back in Ithaca, NY and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Most of my (Matt's) time, this summer, has been focused on expanding financial partnership in our ministry, and preparing for the fall semester. This preparation for the fall looks like many different things, such as: Preparing the weekly Bible studies in Colossians, working through the Bible study curriculum that The Navigators have developed for my training, random administrative tasks, and keeping in touch with the students.

One of those students is Nick (not his real name). I chatted with him on Facebook briefly the other day and caught up a bit. At the end of last spring semester, Nick and I got together at a local coffee joint to catch up on the year and get to know each other better. During our time, Nick asked me if I would be his 'spiritual godfather' of sorts, and pray for him at his baptism at a local Chinese church. I was a little surprised at his unexpected request. After I realized the service was in English, I relaxed a bit.

It has been great getting to know Nick. He regularly attended our freshmen Bible study all last year, and came to several of our Nav events and retreats (sometimes while taking 23 credits!). He has expressed an eager desire to grow in Christ and know His transforming power. As I chatted with him yesterday, he mentioned that he is memorizing scripture using The Navigators Topical Memory System (TMS). I recommended it to him at the end of last spring, and am very excited to see him diligently hiding God's Word in his heart (Psalm 119:11). I am stoked to continue to disciple Nick this next year!

Thank you so much for your prayers & partnership on behalf of Nick! We are truly seeing lives transformed in Christ here at Cornell, and you have been such an encouraging and crucial part of that transformation. Please pray with us, that Nick would continue to dig deep and lay the foundation on the rock--that is Christ (Luke 6:46-49)

Also, in regards to our financial needs, we are encouraged as the Lord continues to provide in His time. Right now, we are thankful to be at 81% of our total budget goal. We are still trusting Him for the remaining $1,225 in monthly support. Please continue to pray with us for new financial partnerships with churches and individuals, and continued and increased giving. (If the Lord leads, giving information is at the bottom of the email.)

Paul says it best for us:

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel, from this first day until now, ..." Philippians 1:3-5 NIV

Partnering With You,

M&L

Coaching in Colorado

As you heard in our last few email updates (and photos), I (Matt) was in Colorado Springs, CO at The Navigators HQ, Glen Eyrie.

My job there was simply to help field questions during the different training sessions, and work times. I had 3 new Nav staffers at my table, 2 of which I used to minister to while I was at the University of Vermont. It was a real privilege to help these young men and women prepare for their first year on staff with The Navigators.

Thank you all for making it possible for me to be there to help & encourage! Lindsay and I are so richly blessed by our Lord through you all.

Here are a few more photos of my time there, (or click the photo).

(We really did get a lot done, honest!)

1 Year Wedding Anniversary

Lindsay and I just celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary on the 13th of June. It was wonderful.

We spent a night at a bed & breakfast in Hastings, MN on the Mississippi. It was beautiful. We enjoyed the quaint little shops of Hastings, the river, and some of the historic sites.



The night we arrived, there was a classic car show in downtown Hastings dubbed 'The Cruise-In'. I definitely got my fill of mid 60's and early 70's Mustangs! (Lindsay is kissing that 68' Mustang Fastback.)



We enjoyed dinner downtown and got some IBC Rootbeer to-go as we walked around looking at the cars. It was a great evening, perfect weather.

The next day we went to the Como Zoo and Ikea, good times.

Email Update | 06/18/09

Here is out latest email update sent today (there is a # correction, I was absentminded when I typed in our budget percentile):

Dear Friends,

Thank you all again so much for your faithful partnership in our ministry! We hope that you all are doing well. As we think of you all, we want to be in prayer for you in as specific ways as possible. So, please, if you have a prayer request, do not hesitate to email us back. We consider it a privilege to lift you up in prayer to our Heavenly Father.

Lindsay and I are finally back in Minnesota for a bit! Currently we are in Willmar, MN re-connecting with friends, and sharing a bit about our ministry. We plan to be here from now till about Saturday, June 27th or so.

Funding Update
For part of this summer, we are focusing on our funding budget. We are so thankful to the Lord that as of January 09, our financial budget for last year was totally & graciously provided for! Here at the beginning of the fiscal year, we are seeking to secure the funds again that were one-time gifts last year.

Our budget goal has not changed since last year. Currently, our secured financial partnership is 62% of our budget goal. So that leaves 38% that still needs to be secured for this new fiscal year. We are in contact with a few potential partnering churches, and are seeking new individual partners. Please continue to pray for the Lord to bring us into prayerful & financial partnership with new individuals and churches.

Summer Plans
We hope to be back in Ithaca, New York around July 3rd. Our plan for the summer is primarily based around preparation for the fall. We will be praying over student names for key roles next year. I will be preparing the weekly Bible studies for fall semester, from the book of Colossians, as well as working through 70+ hours of the Navigators Bible study curriculum, and some other books as well. We will also be attending our Cornell summer students' weekly book study of Dr. Timothy Keller's, "The Reason for God".

We are looking forward to being back in our apartment, and enjoying our first Ithaca summer! Please pray for our courage, physical & emotional strength, and trust to grow during this season.

Thank you all again for co-laboring with us in the harvest fields. You are very precious to us! Philippians 1:3-5

Lifting Our Eyes,

Matt & Lindsay

P.S. You may remember in our last mail update, I was headed to Colorado Springs, CO to help coach some new Navigator staff. Below are two photos of a few of the guys I helped coach. Two of the men are from the U. of Vermont where I used to be on staff with the Navigators. You might recognize one from previous newsletters, big tall guy.

Here we are at the waterfall in Queen's Canyon in Glen Eyrie (Navigators HQ), just before we went swimming.



And then again, right before the formal banquet at the end of their training (I forgot fancy clothes).

Newsletter in the Mail

We hope you're all doing well in this beautiful month of April! We have had fantastic weather here lately. Yesterday it was 72˚F, and today it's supposed to be upwards of 80˚F! This is not usual for Ithaca, but we are very thankful. (I have observed that people from extreme 4 season climates just appreciate the sun & warm weather more, when it does show itself. People are noticeably happier and more cheerful, all those warm-fuzzy endorphins flowing.) Anyway ...

I just wanted to let you know that we have our latest newsletter in the mail sharing some more details and photos concerning our Spring Break trip to Washington, D.C. So do watch your mailboxes over the next 3-4 days for those! I have posted a portion of it below.


Some of our students at the National Capital Building.

"1 Week. 19 Friends. 12 Hours in the Car. Spring Break 2009. Washington D.C.

“Flip flop-squeak”. The windshield wipers fight tirelessly against the persistent raindrops as they blur your view of Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. Excited and hyper chatter fills the back seat of the mini-van. A sickening ‘pop’ sets your heartbeat up a notch. A blown tire at 11:30 pm. Soon you find yourself in a borrowed yellow t-shirt, (to avoid becoming road kill) seeing dollar signs as you survey the newly discovered damage. The students, within the limits of the road flares set up by the accommodating officer, spend their time texting their friends of the adventure as they eat Stawberry Twizzlers and salty Cheezits. At the discovery of a faulty spare tire, the situation continues to get more difficult. Techno music from the other Navigator vehicle keeps the students entertained as they laugh and joke. Now 1:20 am, you drive off with a borrowed spare tire from the jeep traveling with you. Snoring now replaces the jittery chatter of the Cornellians. Little do you know that this would be a ‘favorite memory’ of the students with you.

Only on Spring Break trips would this be considered a highlight!"

Thank you all again for your partnership in this ministry of the Kingdom. Your prayerful & financial support is key to the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus here at Cornell. Thank you for ministering with us in D.C., at Cornell, and in these students lives!

M&L

Jerry Bridges

Jerry Bridges, long time Navigator staff and author of several books including "Trusting God", "Respectable Sins", "The Discipline of Grace", "Transforming Grace", and "The Pursuit of Holiness" (All NavPress), came to speak at our Cornell inter fellowship gathering. Many of the different Christian fellowships on campus came together to hear Jerry speak, worship, and fellowship together. We had quite a turn out, the auditorium, which had a capacity of 380, was almost completely filled.

Unfortunately, Jerry's flights were delayed, so that he was unable to make it for the actual speaking engagement on Friday night. But, we did get some wonderful time with Jerry Saturday. We had him field questions from the Cornell Navs students about how to live daily in the reality of the Gospel (One of Jerry's main areas/ideas of focus & writing). That was a wonderful time of Christ centered conversation, discussion, and teaching.

We also had the privilege of having Jerry speak Saturday afternoon with just our Cornell Navs staff team on the subject of spiritual transformation (the process of becoming more like Christ). It was an excellent time Biblical teaching.

Sunday morning Jerry also spoke at a local church on Palm Sunday from Isaiah 53. That was a real blessing as well.

Thank you all for partnering with us in the harvest fields here at Cornell! You are all truly ministering to our hearts as well.

M&L

Mark Noll

It is a poor quality photo from my cell phone, but you get the idea.

Dr. Mark A. Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and author of books such as "The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind", came to speak at Cornell last month. The topic of his lecture, "Science, Religion and A.D. White: Seeking Peace In the 'Warfare' Between Science and Religion". A.D. White was one of the founders of Cornell University, along with Ezra Cornell. He was known for sort of coining the metaphor of a war between science and religion (namely the Christian faith, creationism, etc), that they were not compatible.

It was fascinating to listen as Professor Noll systematically, thoughtfully, respectfully, logically, and convincingly dismantled each one White's arguments that he used to support the idea that there is a war between science and religion. Basically, Noll refuted the notion, stating that there in fact is no war at all, and that there never was. Noll claimed and supported that they, in fact, compliment each other. It was impressive.

Many students, professors, and faculty came out from all different corners of the campus. It was quite a turn out. Afterward, our Navigator group had pizza and discussed Noll's talk in small groups. We had some great Gospel-centered discussions!

Thank you for partnership in ministry! Your support helps bring about such great opportunities for truth and grace to be proclaimed.

Grateful,
M&L

Little Lights Urban Ministry

Check it out, Little Lights (LLUM) posted a 'thank you' on their website to the Cornell Navigators! There are photos too.

"The week before LLUM’s spring break, we had a group of Navigators come from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY to learn, encourage, and serve. Throughout the week they filed, organized, cleaned and -oh yeah- played with our wonderful and amazing LLUM students! Thank you guys for all of your hard work, it was truly a blessing to host you guys!!"

This was posted by Mijin from LLUM. She is the woman that primarily worked with us and helped us get situated and help out around LLUM. She was great. She is in a photo in the previous post here.

Thank you all for your prayers during out time. I look forward to sending you a newsletter in the snail-mail to update you more thoroughly about our time there, and how your prayers were experienced and answered!

M&L

New Faces

On the top is a staffer from LLUM. The two young boys are a part of the LLUM ministry in the Potomac Gardens housing project in SE D.C. The boy in the middle is the boy who I (Matt) have been mentoring 1-1 all week. He is in first grade. We have played in the park together, worked on his homework, and read books together. Today we said goodbye as we have to leave tomorrow morning. We have had the privilege of interacting with several kids like this throughout the week.

Thank you for your prayers for our trip here to Washington D.C. We look forward to taking these lessons back to Cornell.

Free Day SB09

We had a great free day today. We went to museums, parks, monuments, memorials, historic sites, etc. This is a photo from the D.C. Metro Blue Line. Tomorrow is our last day with the children of the LLUM. We will be driving back on Saturday. Thank you for your prayers!

Group Discussion SB09

Some of our students grab coffee during our Bible discussion groups. We had another day of administrative tasks around LLUM. And this afternoon we read and played board games with the K-4th graders. Also, thankyou for your prayers! Our car that needed a new tire got the exact one and they found that the serpentine belt was just about to go bad. Thank the Lord! That would have been a nigtmare on the drive back to Ithaca.

All Smiles in D.C.

We are doing well here in D.C. Today is our first day of interacting with the staff at Little Lights Urban Ministries (LLUM for short). This evening we will be helping the children with their homework. Later we will have some relaxation and fun time. Thankyou for your prayers for us and with us! (Please pray with us that we can get our vehicle with the flat tire fixed without significant cost! Thank you.)

Safely In D.C.

This is a shot from a rest stop on the NY/PA border. Our drive down to D.C. was just fine. We had a few delays, but we all arrived safely eventually, around 5:30pm. We ordered in pizza at the church where we stayed for the night, and picked up some groceries. Later that night we piled in the cars again and drove to the National Mall. There we walked around and saw the lights, monuments, and memorials together. One of our vehicles got a flat tire, but we got a spare from another one of our vehicles! Eventually we arrived back safely at the church and crashed, around 1:30am. Thank you for your prayers for our trip thus far. We will seek to continue to keep you updated!

Spring Break 2009

We're off today, pray for us! We drive to Washington, D.C. to work with Little Lights Urban Ministries, today. We will arrive back in Ithaca, NY on March 21st in the evening. Please pray with us for:

+ Safe Travel
+ That it would be a time of spiritual refreshment for the students. That they would meet the Lord, and fellowship in Christ with one another.
+ That we would be a blessing to Little Lights Urban Ministries; that we would come with servants hearts & attitudes (Mark 10:45, 2 Corinthians 4:5).

I will try and post while we are there with photos, stories, and updates. Thanks!

NYC

I took Lindsay on a little surprise Valentines Day/Birthday vacation a few weeks ago to downtown New York City. We had a wonderful time visiting museums, parks, local shops, eateries, and sights. Here is a link to the first album of our NYC photos, here is a link to the second album. Enjoy.

NEWC 2009

Northeast Winter Conference 2009

Below are some photos of our time together in Colebrook, CT at Camp Jewell (YMCA). A total of 250 some students came from Navigator ministries all across New England, plus New York. It was a wonderful time of reflection upon the 'crossroads of life'. The focus of the conference was the lordship of Christ. We had 3 speakers that all shared their different experiences of walking with the LORD through different stages of life, and how they each had unique and significant crossroads in their lives at which they needed to make key lordship decision for Christ. The theme verse was:

Jeremiah 6:16 "This is what the LORD says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."












A shot of the entire group at one of the sessions
Courtesy of Craig Parker

A group photo of our Cornell Navs crew at the conference

A ridiculous group photo of our Cornell Navs crew at the conference

Email Update | 02/26/09

(Our latest email update. In case you are not on our email update list, please email us a mlkinnick [at] gmail.com, and we will add you! Thanks.) 

M&L @ Cornell | 02/26/09

Dear Friends,

You all continue to be a wonderful encouragement & support to us as we labor here in the harvest fields of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. So, thank you for putting your hands to the plow with us!

Northeast Winter Conference 09
Two weeks ago we had our annual student conference in which all the Navigator ministries in the northeast + NY bring the students involved in their ministries to one location to worship, listen to the Scriptures taught by speakers, participate in workshops on the Scriptures, and have a lot of fun with each other. So from February 13-15, we all converged in Colebrook, CT at Camp Jewell (YMCA).

Cornell brought 25 students, and we had around 250 students total at the conference! These conferences & retreats are really an important & formative time for students in our ministries, especially for freshmen. We always love for the 1st year students to come, because they get so well connected with the rest of the students in the ministry, building deeper friendships. Thank you for your prayers as 5 freshmen came, Jeff, William, Kate, Amy, and Kelly (not their real names)! Please pray with us that they would continue to draw closer to the Lord in love, and to one another in friendship.

One-to-One Focus
As I mentioned in last month's email, Lindsay and I are focusing in on 1-1 relationships with the freshmen. So far I (Matt) have connected with about half of the men from our freshmen group. Lindsay also, has met with several of the young women from her freshmen Bible study, as well as upperclassmen women. It has been exciting & encouraging to discuss the Scriptures and life, and to pray together.

Another focus we are keying in on is to connect the older generations in our ministry with the 1st year students. Lindsay has really been focusing on this, connecting her freshmen women up with junior & senior women to read & pray through the Scriptures, & talk life. I (Matt) have also been connecting a sophomore guy, Jake, with Jeff from my freshmen study. It has been wonderful to see the older students catching the vision for discipling! Please pray with us, that the Lord would continue to work our ministry into a community where generational discipling flourishes!

Spring Break - March 14-21
In March, we will be taking around 25-30 students down to Washington D.C. for spring break! We are very excited to be working with an organization called Little Lights. They reach out to under privileged children in urban D.C. primarily through after school programs (i.e. helping them with their homework, providing a safe & fun environment, etc). We are very excited to head down there for a week and support their ministry, get time away from busy Cornell, spend some time with one another & with the Lord! Please pray with us, for the final details to be worked out, and for our students (especially freshmen) to get excited & sign-up!

Thank you all again for laboring with us in petitioning and trusting the Lord to bring the growth! (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)

Matt & Lindsay

Email Update | 01/25/09

(Sorry it has taken this long to post this. In case you are not on our email update list, please email us at mlkinnick [at] gmail.com, and we will add you! Thanks.)

M&L @ Cornell | 01/25/09

Dear Fellow Workers,

Your labor in the harvest fields, alongside us, encourages our hearts and gives us strength. Thank you. 

Thank you for your prayers concerning our travel over break. We were guarded & protected. The snow conditions were quite sketchy when we left Ithaca, NY on the 12th of December, but it cleared up right around western Ohio :) We had a wonderful conference with our fellow Staff-In-Training friends in Delavan, WI, Dec. 13-18. Lindsay and I enjoyed quality & restful time with both of our families! And our travel back to Ithaca, NY on the 10th of January was snowy in Chicago, but beautiful the rest of the drive on the 11th.

This semester in our Navigator ministry here at Cornell, we are seeking to develop more intentional one-to-one relationships. Specifically I am thinking among these freshmen men & women that Lindsay and I are connecting with and ministering to. We desire to see them more deeply rooted in Christ and in true Christ-like relationship with one another. Granted this will take time as they are young. But we are seeking to sow the seeds for a foundational life with Christ now, so that they are equipped to walk with Him for a life time in devotion & in community with other Christ followers.

Please pray with us over these names, that they might obediently dig deeper (Luke 6:48) into the foundation that is Christ and experience His steadfast love & faithfulness. Please pray that out of the experience of that relationship with Christ, they might extend the same love in friendship to those around them (those in and outside of relationship with Christ).

Freshmen Men: Mark, James, Andrew, John, Jonathan, Aaron, Tim, Larry, Sean, Jesseon, Jacob, Dan, Walter, David
Freshmen Women: Jamie, Susan, Laura, Lauren, Anna, Amanda, Rena, Debbie, Emma

Lindsay and I are both seeking to share a Gospel illustration with each one of these students individually in the next few weeks. We hope to get a sense of their understanding of the Gospel so that we can better minister to them individually. (Some have come to Bible study & other events regularly, others are spotty, others have only come once.) Please pray that these meetings & conversations would be divinely appointed and full of Grace & Truth.

We look forward to keeping you updated on how your prayers with us are being answered! Thank you again for getting your hands dirty with us in the harvest field here at Cornell University!

Digging Deep,

Matt & Lindsay

A Semester of Connections

(Amy, myself, and Kate)

Last semester ended with much encouragement and hope for the semester to come. Many freshman girls have shown an interest and desire to get their hands on the Word and learn. This semester will be key in connecting the upperclassmen women and the freshman women together in the Word.

Girls like Amy and Kate (above; not real names) who have a genuine desire to grow in Christ would greatly benefit from meeting with girls like Melissa and Leslie (below; not real names). Melissa and Leslie are valuing the importance of helping younger believers in their spiritual journey.



(Melissa and Leslie, juniors)

Each experience the position of Timothy, learning from Paul. The junior girls learn to become a Paul after having been invested in as 'Timothy's'.

The excitement for me is helping equip girls like Melissa and Leslie on their own journey and helping girls like Amy and Kate to gain skills and strength in walking with Christ.

Pray with me for these girls and the many like them, that they would be "rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness" (Col.2:7)!