Because we have been sending out more frequent e-newsletter updates, I have not been updating this blog as much recently. If you want to see some of our recent newsletters from the end of spring/beginning of summer, you can click here, and see what has been going on.

It has been an awesome summer so far! There is quite a contingent of students that have stuck around for the summer, and we are having some really rich and fun times. We have continued to have weekly Cross Training meetings, small groups, and one on one meetings, while also leading some fun hiking excursions, having summer bbq's, and hanging out doing fun, random things since students have a little more time on their hands. As a staff, we have also been setting aside a lot of time to prayerfully revisit and revamp our vision, mission, and overall approach to ministry for the upcoming year, as well as plan some new initiatives we want to do this year. These times are proving very fruitful and getting us really excited for the fall.


One cool thing about summer is that there are usually a handful of new students and non-believers who get more involved in Cardinal Life, and the current students who are around get to bond more. To name a few reasons: people have more time to hang out; current students invite their friends to fun community activities (like hikes and bbq's), which often makes them feel more connected to the community, leading to more involvement; new and current students are out of their normal rhythm and usually have a little more time on their hands to stop and reflect, which God uses to draw them closer. We are particularly fond of summer for these reasons. As we look back, we realize that God has done some incredibly unique things each summer to build momentum, re-center us and students, and build up the Cardinal Life community.

We invite your prayers for us, for students, and for the movement of God on Stanford's campus. Stanford students are SO desperate for the life changing love and grace of Christ. There is so much pain, brokenness, and emptiness that we just see more and more every year amongst students who don't know Christ. We feel very burdened for each and every student at Stanford to get a glimpse of Jesus through His body that is present on campus, as well as to train and equip students to lead Christ centered, Kingdom first lives. That is a lofty goal that we need much prayer, much support, and much help and encouragement from you. We have a lot of work to do!

Trent and Emilee recently led a group of 25 students on a radical day trip to a place called Arroyo Seco. It is amazing how much people can bond from spending one day together on a wild adventure. This canyon extravaganza has it all: jumping off of 20, 40, and 60 foot cliffs, swimming through narrow canyons, climbing up a 15 foot waterfall by rope, walking and floating down the river, and hiking back to the cars in 102 degree heat! Out of the 25 students who went, over half of them were not believers, and apparently there were some cool interactions and coversations that took place. It was neat to see some of those new faces at Cross Training a few days later. This trip has become a traditional summer outing that consistently brings new people into the fold and is just a really fun adventure.

I recently met with a girl who was having doubts about her faith in Christ. She is a fairly new believer, and didn't really know the source of her doubts, but they were present nonetheless and troubling her greatly. She asked me to share with her things that help me in the face of doubt. I giggled and said, "are you sure you want to get me started?" Out of all the types of conversations I have with students, I think coming alongside students in the face of doubt is my sweet spot and the thing I feel perhaps most passionate about and most alive doing! We talked for about two hours, and I asked her if she had any overarching thoughts to anything I had shared. She just smiled really big and said, "I am just so happy right now because I know I am not crazy for believing in Jesus and my faith feels very strengthened." Music to my soul! My faith is always strengthened as well when I meditate on the many reasons why I know that God is real, that Jesus is God and the visible image of the invisible God, that Christ was crucified and raised from the dead, and that I am now united with Christ, made new, and awakened to his Kingdom here and now.

The last Cross Training meeting was really powerful. We invite you to listen to the most recent sermon that we listened to here by a pastor named Britt Merrick, who is Trent's home pastor from a town just south of Santa Barbara. Britt preached this sermon the day before they found out that his six year old daughter, Daisy, has cancer for the second time this year. He posted this sermon on his blog with a note that said, "The day before we found out about Daisy’s new tumor, I preached this message at Reality San Francisco on Jesus being our supreme treasure and how that becomes more and more true when we face adversity and heartbreak. It’s still true today!" What a powerful witness this family is! You can also see the sermon he preached a few days after they found out about Daisy's tumor for the first (and second) time here in the top right corner of the blog, Those sermons are called "When my Heart is Overwhelmed" and "Struck down but not Destroyed." Both of these sermons are among the most powerful sermons I have ever heard!