Hey everyone in Missions, Euojin says there is enough snow outside for a snowball fight. Please drag your colleague and self to the front of the office in 5 minutes (unless you are chicken) to engage in the time – honored past time of throwing snowballs. 4:40 pm on the front lawn! Jim Urbana Director Vice President – Missions --------------------------------- The email above was sent with high importance to our department this afternoon by our boss at 4:30pm. Shortly after he went around gathering everyone to go outside. We threw snow balls at each other for a good 10-15 minutes in the parking lot and then came in with numb fingers, wet coats, and snow covered hair. It's great working here! In the midst of all the small details and nailing down the last minute changes, today I had a strong sense of the Lord's presence amongst us. Since the end of November, many of us have been working longer hours and it has been intense! However, in the midst of all of this, God is definitely moving and speaking and He desires to be with us. He is with us! We often just miss out and forget that He is here right now. Today I celebrated the Lord's love for His people. I think we often forget that God loves us. God loves us! Let me say that again, God loves us...very deeply. We've heard it all before and it seems like such a simple concept, but to sit and soak in that fact that He loves us is hard to do sometimes. This is especially if we are too "busy." However you may interpret or define "busy." When I was thinking about being soaked in the concept of God loving us...loving me. It reminded me of the scene in Good Will Hunting, when Robin Williams says to Matt Damon, "It's not your fault, it's not your fault." What Robin says to Matt really doesn't sink in initially. However, Robin continues to say it slowly and finally looks in Matt Damon's eyes and says, "It's not your fault, it's not your fault, it's not your fault." As it sets in and as Matt let's it soak in him, he begins to cry. That's what I mean when I say, we really need to just sit and soak in the concept that God loves us. It's so powerful! When we go back to the very beginning and think about why we are doing what we are doing, for me anyways, it started because He chose me to be a part of what He is doing. What a blessing! What a privilege! He chose me to experience Him...who am I? OOOh I am excited for Christmas and Urbana this year. Though there is still much to do before the conference, God has revealed Himself and this is only the beginning. Aren't you excited for what is to come? Let us pray for protection and hope. Let us rejoice in the Lord's love, grace, and mercy. Joy to the world! Blessings friends! P.S. Here's quick behind the scenes of Urbana with my supervisor Nikki: http://urbana09conference.blip.tv/ | 
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