Your Giving At Work

How We Plan Welcome Week

2011-08-22T15:10:00.003-05:00

What DO you DO...

2011-08-16T11:48:00.003-05:00

We are asked this question alot: Just what DO campus missionaries DO...

The rest of the question usually varies... at the office? during meetings? to raise money? on campus? and the focus of today's post: during the summer?

So, just what DO campus missionaries DO during the summer?

I thought you'd never ask. :)

Here's a little pictorial review of what this summer has looked like for the Jacksons!

As you can see, it's a little bit of family time and a whole lot of planning & prep time! In actual words, here's some of what we did this summer:

Planning >
We spent the majority of the summer making plans for the upcoming school year (which starts for us in about 1 week). We manage two properties which we rent to students and those needed updating and leases renewed. The first few weeks of summer were spent making those arrangements but most of our summer planning hours are spent on Chi Alpha events, strategies, and organization for the Fall. We have planned our first two weeks of school, which we call Welcome Week at SFA (top left photo). They are jam-packed with events designed to attract freshmen and connect them to our small groups. We want them to feel loved and welcomed! We keep in touch with small group and iTeam leaders throughout the summer. We plan and facilitate a retreat just for the leadership team at the end of every summer, which requires budgeting, negotiating, planning, shopping, brainstorming, and more (bottom left photo).

Freshmen >
We also spent 5 weeks this summer participating in Freshmen Orientations. We set up a table during the University-sponsored Religious Organization Fair and spent several hours a week meeting and connecting with incoming freshmen (read, "Potential Chi Alpha members"). We invested more effort this year in our table set-up to highlight our major Welcome Week event, the XA Luau. Every member wore a lei and the girls put flowers in the hair, too. We gave every student information to take home about Chi Alpha and our upcoming events, which brings me to...

Design Work >
I (Ashley) spend an insane amount of summer time catching up on design work and planning new marketing strategies for the coming year. This summer I've designed multiple websites for Chi Alpha related entities in addition to the pieces you see in the collage above in the top and bottom right photos: Promo Pieces for the XA Luau and a new Chi Alpha tshirt.

Underground Church >
This summer we tried something new. Because we had a good number of Chi Alpha students staying in Nac for the summer, we organized a weekly Bible Study which we called Underground Church. We got together each week for a bit of worship and a study through the book of Romans. In addition, a different student took the book Operation World home each week to learn about and pray for a country, which he/she then shared about with the rest of the group. We spent time in prayer each week for a different country! How awesome is that!

Support Raising >
But probably the most important part of our summer schedule is the time we spend raising finances. This summer was quite the task: we had 3 major ongoing projects that needed financial backing. Personal Support ($1,000 monthly), Welcome Week ($1,000 one-time), and our International House Remodel ($5,000+ one-time). We are still in the process on several of these projects, but are excited to say that the up-front work on the International House Remodel has been provided for - Praise God! We have received a few donations towards the Welcome Week budget and while we have received an overwhelming amount (seriously, it's been amazing - thank all of you!) of special offerings for us personally, we have still not raised anything towards our new monthly goal.

So, as you can see, the summer may technically be "off" time for us - but our workload is anything but light! In addition to all that, we managed to squeeze in multiple medical procedures & accompanying doctor's visits, a trip to south Louisiana, a couple of short trips to north Louisiana, and our first real family vacation with Katelyn!

Please do pray for our family: we need to raise our personal finances, we need wisdom and God's direction in several areas, and we need strength and peace to continue working hard for His Kingdom. And please pray for our ministry: we love these students and have big dreams for what God could do in them and through them! Help us to communicate those dreams clearly, to accurately and proudly proclaim the Good News to this campus, and for souls to hear the Gospel and respond to Him!

I hope you've enjoyed our first installment of What DO you Do... Keep your eyes open for more answers to your questions in the future!

Katelyn Update

2011-06-27T14:21:00.003-05:00

My brave little girl has now been to the doctor not once but twice for follow-up visits since her surgery in April. I know many of you have asked how she is doing since all that chaos - Keep reading for a full update on what's happened since we left the hospital!

At first, everything was going great - Katelyn was improving, she regained use of her leg within just a few days of returning home. We started her back in her Mother's Day Out program, which helped significantly with her clingy-ness issues with Mommy. We had to postpone her allergy test because of conflicts with the Clindamycin (antibiotic) she continued to take after release from the hospital. She spent a total of 6 weeks on the antibiotic, 3 doses / day. In the hospital she got her meds through her IV; but at home we had to give it to her orally. Every doctor, tech, pharmacist, pharmacy employee... everyone we talked with about her antibiotics told us how gross it tastes and how difficult it would be to get her to swallow. They were all right! We eventually found that by mixing it with a few tablespoons of yogurt or apple sauce, she would take it. So 3 times a day (including one dose at 3am given by my amazing husband) she had a bowl of yogurt or apple sauce. Needless to say, we actually did a dance when we gave her the last dose at home!

By the time she went back for her first follow-up we were very excited about her progress! We thought for sure she would be cleared and we could go on with our lives. While her follow-up appointment went as well as could be expected, she was not cleared. Her doctors were very encouraged by the bloodwork at that visit - both CRP and ESR levels had dropped since her last day at the hospital and were back to within normal ranges - but they wanted to check her levels one more time 2 weeks after her last dose of Clinda. So, we waited about another month and headed back to Dallas for follow-up appointment #2. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Between follow-up appointments 1 & 2, our baby girl spiked a little fever. Nothing major - very low, never going above 100.5, but technically a fever, which was NOT supposed to be possible on such a strong antibiotic. So we rushed to the doctor and she rushed us to the hospital for more bloodwork. The first set showed a slightly elevated CRP level, a scary thing that could indicate more infection in her hip. So we waited through the weekend and had another test done on Monday to confirm the increase, but luckily the second set of bloodwork pointed towards a viral infection, meaning something different from her hip. Sure enough, her "fever" went away and we never saw any signs of discomfort in her hip. Whew.

Now, back to follow-up appointment #2. Having been there before, we had the routine down this time: we showed up an hour early, rocked through her bloodwork, and then headed upstairs to wait for her exray's. They wanted to take a look at the bones in her left hip to make sure the infected fluid hadn't caused any damage structurally. When we met with the doctors, they told us her blood work was once again perfect and that her exray's also looked clear. We expected to hear the magical words, "We think she's over this thing now." Instead, we heard, "But we'd like you to come back one more time... in 6 months." More exray's. More blood work. Apparently, damage from this fluid to the structure of her hip can take up to 6 months to appear on an exray, so back to Dallas we go at the turn of the year.

As I'm sure you can sense in my sarcastic tone, we are less than excited about a return trip to Dallas. It's an all-day adventure with a toddler strapped in a carseat - and those adventures are never fun. But, even as I complain about the return trip, I am SO incredibly grateful that she has improved as much as she has - and I am equally grateful for the diligence our doctors have shown in her care. I would much rather make one more trip to Dallas than to discover in a few years that she has major structural damage to her hip.

All in all... it's not such a bad drive to Dallas - plus, there's always Fadi's Mediterranean Grill to help me get through it! (It's our new favorite Dallas restaurant)

So, thanks again for all the prayers for our baby girl. She is so precious to us! We love you all!

We're Home!

2011-04-30T11:24:00.005-05:00

After 7 days in the hospital, we were finally discharged yesterday morning and headed straight for home! But I wanted to fill you all in on the last couple days of Katelyn's stay at Dallas Children's, too.

Katelyn's blood test Thursday morning showed continuously decreased CRP levels - ESR levels remained about the same, which is to be expected. Her new CRP levels were a 3.3 - so while we were excited to see such a drastic change (it dropped by more than half), we knew we were not low enough to go home, and we prepared ourselves for two more days in the hospital.

We spent alot of time Thursday in the playrooms again. Her mobility continued to improve and she crawled or walked with almost every toy in that room for 1.5 hours straight! Of course, she was fairly wiped out after that and took a great nap!

As she was waking up, we had a knock on our door. We opened it to see a man holding a pink stuffed animal and a balloon. He explained who he was and gave Katelyn this GIANT pink stuffed sock monkey doll and a Tangled balloon - oh, and a get well card, too - all from her teachers at MDO! I thought it was SO sweet of them to go to all the trouble of tracking us down to deliver my baby girl a little happy - we really do LOVE Katelyn's school! Katelyn promptly named her monkey AhAh because that's the sound a monkey makes and they have become best friends. In this pic, she's taking yet another nap with AhAh and you'll see her appearing in more and more pics in the Facebook album.

We were surprised to hear from our peds team that they'd like to repeat her blood test a day early, on Friday morning, to see if her levels would drop enough to go home! So we spent the rest of the day Thursday anxious about the results from Friday morning's test, torn between really wanting to go home and wanting our baby to be healthy when we finally got to.

Derrick stayed with his cousin Lauri Thursday night and I took a shift at the hospital with Katelyn. I prayed like crazy that night, after a VERY long ordeal getting her to sleep, that Katelyn would supernaturally sleep through the miscellaneous night-time interruptions and I am super excited to say that she really did! Even though it seemed we had more "visitors" during the night Thursday than ever before, she slept wonderfully!

Friday morning's blood tests showed her CRP was at 2.0 - the breaking point for being able to go home. We were insanely nervous about whether that would show enough improvement for our doctor's to be comfortable sending us home, but we finally heard the words we'd been hoping for: "Looks like you'll be going home today!"

since we've been home

We had a very uneventful drive home, just like we hoped it would be! Katelyn slept more than half the trip, cuddling the whole way with AhAh. She has done amazingly well at re-adjusting to our normal schedules. She is napping well during the day and slept from 8pm - 8am with no waking or crying! I was so surprised by that I got nervous and sneaked in her room early this morning to check on her!

She is walking very well - she is consistently walking from her playroom into our living room, still with a small limp. She is playing and eating well, too.

follow up

Our major prayer concern at this point is all the follow-up that comes with this condition. She will be on oral antibiotics for the next 30 days at least. But, the medicine tastes TERRIBLE and we are having trouble getting her to take it. Please pray that we will find a good mixture with something to help cover the bitter taste - we've tried chocolate syrup and orange juice thus far.

We have a follow-up appointment with our regular pediatrician this Monday afternoon and a follow-up with her surgeon back in Dallas in a week or so. Please pray that both of those go well and that we see only signs of improvement!

thank you!

Derrick and I want to say again how incredibly grateful and humbled we feel for/by the responses we've gotten from you guys. Friends we haven't seen in years have contacted us about praying - family from across the country, too. Everyday we have been amazed at your love and support for our precious little girl and we have been incredibly touched by it all. Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything you've done during this crazy time. We love you all so much!

last post for a while

This will be our last regular post for awhile. We look forward to watching Katelyn improve every day and will try to update after all her follow-up appointments are done. We want you guys to see the end results of all your prayers for sure!

BIG Day - Drains, Games, a Cowboy & More!

2011-04-27T16:34:00.003-05:00

Good morning! Derrick send us another pic this morning of the view from his hotel room. So pretty! Who knew then all that this day would hold for our little girl...

Early enough that Derrick hadn't even arrived at the hospital, Katelyn's surgical team came to remove her drain and re-dress her incision. This was not a pleasant experience for her or me - I had to help hold her still and then actually help re-dress the wound because, frankly, we needed two sets of hands to hold her still and apply the tape in the right place. Even with my trying to help, it still didn't get done right the first time and I had to fix it after she'd calmed down. But... with that over and her incision looking healthy, we were able to move on to the rest of our day, which proved to be quite interesting!

bathtime

We decided to sign Katelyn out of her floor to have lunch as a family downstairs. Baby girl was in much need of a bath before we went so we attempted our first sponge bath with a wiggly 18 month old. She did great and we got her all clean and even got her hair washed and dried!

walking

The biggest news is Katelyn's mobility is returning by leaps and bounds - literally! She's been bouncing away inside her hospital crib, crawling on the floor chasing toys, and for the first time, today she walked across the room holding Derrick's hands! Check out the video below to see how good she looks - notice that she's using both legs evenly, both feet are flat on the floor (no tip-toes), and she moves her left leg back and forth like normal! This is a HUGE improvement to her and definitely an answer to everyone's prayers!

paging dr. katelyn

In our continuing efforts to help Katelyn understand what's happening to her, we finally found and bought her a toy doctor's kit. We brought it home from lunch and she took to it right away. We did pretend exams on all her dolls and showed her how each piece works. Then we would do the same things on her. Hopefully she will start making the connection that these things won't "hurt" her and she doesn't have to be afraid!

playroom & andre

She was feeling so good after lunch we decided to find one of the playrooms in the hospital. Turns out there's one right down the hall from our room - who knew - but we got there a little early. She could see through the glass doors to all the toys and was VERY eager to be let inside. While we waited for it to open, we made use of the low handrails to get in some more walking practice. She did so great!

Once inside, her progress continued - she walked and/or crawled all over the room looking at the different stations set up! She finally made herself comfortable in a section of toys for younger children - things she could ride or play with from the floor.

Then the craziest thing happened - an entourage of adults came in and announced they would be filming in our playroom and asked parents to sign releases for the children. Then Andre Gurode from the Dallas Cowboys walked in! He played with the kids all afternoon, took pictures with some of the older ones, and signed autographs!!! Check out Katelyn's autograph from Andre!

more pics

As always, more pics will be in the Facebook album (for those who have access), including some great shots of her in the doctor's kit glasses!

Fun Cousin Sam & Few Recaps

2011-04-26T21:03:00.002-05:00

Today certainly had its up's and down's. Our posts about her test results and new IV explain some of the down's. So I thought I'd wrap up the night with some of the up's.

This afternoon we had a visit from Katelyn's cousin Sam and his mom, Ashli. Katelyn just loves being around other kids, watching them play, learning to be a "big kid," and Sam was lots of fun! We took them outside for a few minutes and they had a blast running around!

sick Elmo

To try and help Katelyn understand a little of what's happening to her, we've retrofitted her Elmo doll to look like her. He has an ID band around his foot that has to have its "picture" (scan) taken when the nurse's come in - and he also has a "bracelet" (IV) on his arm like Katelyn's. We are trying to teach her to "check Elmo's bracelet" like the nurses look at her IV before antibiotic doses. And we are pretending to take lots of "pictures" of Elmo's bracelet on his foot, too. These are just two simple things that happen repeatedly throughout our day - if we can get her used to these, maybe we can move on to some of the other things like taking temperature and changing diapers. So, it's slow, but we are making some progress!

a few funny stories

IV Kisses: My mom had to leave to return home as soon as they finished starting her new IV and we were going through the goodbye's with Katelyn, who was still somewhat upset from the sticks. She wasn't very responsive when we cued her to say "Bye" or "Love you," but when we asked her to "blow kisses" she looked straight at my mom and lifted her newly IV-ed, fully bandaged hand to blow kisses. It was totally sweet and sad all at the same time!

Left Hook: While she was still very upset from the new IV, but was free to sit in my lap, she flailed out of my control and gave me quite a punch to the face with her new plastic fist!

Basketball Champion: We've been trying to motivate Katelyn to move her hip in new ways. So we had the idea to sit her on the floor and let her play. Cousin Sam had left her a surprise in her room and inside was a suction-cup basketball hoop. We hooked it to the door and gave her the ball - she's a natural! Check out this short video to see her in action!

night night Daddy

Derrick is at the hotel tonight to get some real sleep while I stay with Katelyn at the hospital. We switched hotel rooms tonight and moved higher up the building. Derrick sent us this picture of the view from our room. Beautiful! Just wish we could all be there together tonight, but it we will all be together again soon I'm sure!

more pics

As always, more pics are on Facebook for those who have access. Love you all! Goodnight!

New IV

2011-04-26T14:59:00.004-05:00

We had to start a new IV for Katelyn this afternoon. When our nurse came to start Katelyn's afternoon round of antibiotics she found her IV not working properly - she couldn't push the saline, which is apparently a sign that it's time to have a new IV. So, she had to remove the old IV. When she had finally removed the last layer of tape, we discovered that Katelyn takes after her momma... she's quite "allergic" to the adhesive on medical tape. She had fat red lines everywhere the tape had been. In addition, a couple layers of tape had also apparently been rubbing her skin and left three little cuts.

Then they called the IV team to send a nurse up to start a new one. The lady was quite good - very quick. They used a crazy shot of lidocaine to numb her hand first, although from her crying I couldn't tell whether it worked well or not. Hopefully, since the new IV is on top of her hand, we won't have so many issues with her IV occluding during antibiotic doses...the machine makes an awful beeping noise when it happens and she gets very scared. We've had doses during which she occluded it every 2-3 minutes because she was bending her elbow even with the IV board! Then every time it would beep, she would get scared - and the nurse would have to come in to turn it off, which would scare her even more! I'm so glad that should be resolved now!

But neither removing the first IV nor starting the new one were a fun process for my baby girl, and it's so hard to know how to help her - she's too young to really understand what's happening to her but she's old enough that there's only so much Mommy and Daddy's voices can do to comfort her anymore.

Anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? We would love any tips! We've already talked with the hospital staff and she's at a tough in-between age - she's really too young to qualify to have a Child Life Specialist come, but she's obviously old enough to respond not just to the pain of a procedure, but also to the scariness of it.

please, please pray

Please pray that this is the last IV she needs because it's showing signs of complications already! Please pray that we would have some creative ideas about how to communicate on her level about the things that are happening.

On the up side, she has really enjoyed the little puppy dog sticker on top of her "dog house"... she keeps barking at it!

Fail = Still Here

2011-04-26T09:37:00.029-05:00

While we have all been very encouraged by the progress Katelyn is making, as you can see from the picture to the left, but the results of her blood work came back this morning showing still-elevated levels.

To understand the blood tests better and see a further explanation of her situation, click "Read More"

More about blood tests...

The two tests we are running are called ESR and CRP. You can click the links to read more about each one. But the basics are this: they are both general markers, meaning they do not provide specific diagnoses but are rather indicators for the levels of inflammation and infection in the body. (Some people may know ESR as sed-rate.) While they test for similar things, the results from the two tests tend to differ in their progressions. In visual terms, it looks like this:

ESR

   _______
/        \
/              \
/            \
|             |
|               |

CRP

/ \

As you can sortof see by this rough illustration, changes in the sed-rate tend to take longer - it could be weeks to months before we finally see it go down. It also tends to be less specific, working in ranges of numbers as opposed to specifics. (For example, 80-100 is considered all the same level.) However, the CRP has a sharper change to it and reacts quickly. Because of these differences, Katelyn's doctors are much more concerned with her CRP levels, the big question being, "Are they trending downwards?"

As of today, her CRP has dropped by almost 2.5 points to a 6.5! That's great news, on one hand, because it does appear to be trending downwards, although my Math teachers always taught us it takes 3 to make a pattern. On the other hand, it is still quite elevated considering normal is zero and they won't even consider sending her home until we are at 2.0. Katelyn's ESR levels have fluctuated within the same general range, going from well over 100 in Nac down to 89 after her surgery and back up to 106+/- this morning. But since they're all in the same range, it's as if there were no real change.

what does all this mean for Katelyn?

The bottom line of the tests this morning combined with her physical progress is this: she seems to be improving, but we are still here and will be for at least 2-4 more days. Early Thursday morning we will repeat the blood test and see where her levels are then. If they're low enough, we may get to come home. But there are lots of other factors weighing in on that decision, too, and our main concern is that Katelyn gets the treatment she needs. So we will be here as long as we need to be.

did they catch all the infection?

The next major question in my mind has been the possibility of having not removed all the infection. We were told at the start that sometimes children appear to improve in the first few days only to start seeing limited range of motion in the affected limbs again and/or elevated or climbing ESR and CRP levels. We asked about this possibility this morning and her peds resident said today, tomorrow, and Thursday would be the prime time for a relapse, so we are watching her carefully for any signs. But right now, she is doing great!

what about long-term effects?

That has been a big question on our minds - we have broached the subject with her doctors, none of whom seem ready to discuss it yet, but they've tried to put our minds at ease about it. Her ortho surgeon told us this morning that she will not need any physical therapy, despite needing up to several weeks - months to regain full range of motion in her left leg. We've also been concerned about the possibility of recurrence and that is where the doctor's are less sure. Some children never have another issue and it seems others can see the same problems over and over in the future. I'm not sure if there's any way to predict what Katelyn's future will hold.

how to pray

Again, thank you all for your prayers - and for telling us you're praying. It has been an amazing comfort to us, overwhelming really, to realize how many people from all over the world are praying for our precious little girl. God's ears must be ringing with her name these last few days! Thank you so much for praying with us!

BIG NEWS: Katelyn Update

2011-04-25T09:50:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Morrow family, for this balloon
it's really helped our baby girl!

I am SO excited to tell everyone that last night Katelyn started moving again! To give you some perspective, starting last Monday morning when she woke up, I can count the number of times she has crawled or walked on one hand. Last night, for reasons unknown to us, she got very excited about being in her hospital crib... first she sat up unaided... then she rolled over and got onto all fours and played for a long time like that, bouncing up and down, holding the bars and shaking her crib, etc... then she began actually crawling around her crib, playing with all her toys... and then, all on her own, trying to reach this little balloon from her cousins, she pulled herself up to a standing position in her crib! Three times last night she stood up in her crib by herself!

This is such a good sign for her. We are so excited and so grateful to see signs of improvement in her condition!

Please continue to pray for our sweet girl - we have another quiet day today, but tomorrow will be quite traumatic. She has to have blood work again and they will remove her surgery dressing and drain, which will be a long and uncomfortable process for her. Plus, she is still responding frantically when anyone other than family comes into her room, so this will certainly be a difficult time for her. We will talk again after the results of the blood work are back about when she might go home. If she fails this next blood test it'll be at least another 2 days before we come home. Thank you all!

Katelyn's Story

2011-04-24T09:32:00.006-05:00

First, I want to say thank you to everyone for such sweet thoughts, prayers and offers for help. It's been a crazy few days for sure. We love our baby girl so much and very grateful for all the doctors, nurses, techs and staff who are giving up time during their Easter weekends to care for her. They have been absolutely great, loving on her as much as we do.

I know many of you have not gotten to hear the full story of what's happening with Katelyn and, instead of telling and re-telling the story, I thought I would type it all out for you here.
It all started Monday morning when she woke up. As soon as we got her out of bed we knew something was wrong. She had been increasingly moody and fussy all weekend, but Monday was a whole knew level. Every time we touched her she would erupt into tears and crying. But even more frightening to us was her inability / unwillingness to sit up, stand, or walk. We called her pediatrician immediately and went straight to the office that morning. She examined her fully and sent us directly to the hospital for blood work and x-rays. We had blood drawn and x-rays from her hips to her toes. By that afternoon the results were in - x-rays were totally clean: no breaks, no malformations. But her ESR and CRP levels were elevated, indicating that she was having a secondary reaction to an infection. Basically, she'd had a cold the week before which caused her body to have inflammation in certain joints, specifically the hips. The inflammation is similar to that of arthritis and causes similar pain, so the condition is often referred to as reactive arthritis. We were told to keep her still, let her rest, and give her Tylenol and Ibuprofen for pain. Otherwise, there was nothing to be done and she ought to be better within a week.

At the ER in Nac - her full IV board

Over the next few days, she would seem to improve only to have a relapse shortly after. She was still immobile, despite a few attempts at standing and crawling. In addition, she had begun running a fever that hit 102.7+/- when not under constant management. By Friday, her fever was high again and her pain was at an all-time high. Derrick put her into a lukewarm bath to try and bring her fever down while we waited for medicine to kick in and I called the pediatrician's office. Because it was Good Friday, though, the office was closed and I was transferred to the on-call doctor who told me, after a review of the situation, to come immediately to the ER for further testing. Her fear was that she had a bacterial infection in her hip - at a minimum she would need IV antibiotics, but she warned us that surgery was a possibility.

Big girl going for her second ambulance ride

Once at the ER in Nac, doctors ordered a repeat of the bloodwork from Monday (which showed even higher ESR and CRP levels) plus a few more tests, an RSV test, a strep test, and a CT scan. Aside from the ESR and CRP levels, all bloodwork was normal. The CT scan, however, showed definite pockets of fluid in both hips, the larger of the two in her left hip. There were two possibilities: either the fluid was just that... fluid from the inflammation of the reactive arthritis and it would resolve on its own in a few days... or the fluid was infected and she would need surgery. But without the proper staff or equipment for pediatrics, we couldn't continue her care in Nac and were transferred by ambulance in the wee hours Saturday morning. We arrived at Dallas Children's Hospital around 2am and found she had a room and doctor waiting for her. Because it was so late, they got her settled in her room, IV's switched over, pain meds started again (Tylenol & Ibuprofen), and we were left to "sleep" until rounds that morning. My (Ashley's) mom arrived sometime shortly thereafter followed by Derrick's parents around 6am.

Saying "chhheeeeeeeeeessseeee"

Before 8am Katelyn had an ultrasound of both hips to verify the presence of fluid. It showed a large amount of fluid in her left hip, but none in her right - praise the Lord, the right pocket had been reabsorbed overnight! By 8-9am Saturday, Katelyn was seen by members of the orthopedic surgery team (the attending and a resident). Their recommendation was one of quick action - a series of minor surgeries to determine the status of the fluid in her hip. She would be taken to surgery within about an hour.

In recovery post-op - still sleep

By 1pm she was in the OR. The first step was to remove a small amount of the fluid with a needle and have it analyzed in the lab. She was fully asleep under general anesthesia for the whole procedure, so she wasn't in any pain. Once the fluid was extracted, it was sent to the lab and she remained under anesthesia while we waited on results. The surgeon came out and told us he was almost certain it was infected, but wanted to wait on the lab results. Shortly afterward a nurse called to tell us it was in fact infection and they would begin the second part of the surgery. This step involved making a small incision (about 1-2") in her groin and actually washing out the pocket of infection. After around 2 hours in the OR, the surgeon came back and told us she was in recovery and had done quite well. Derrick and I got to join her in recovery just in time for her to be transferred back to the floor. She was still asleep, though not actually sedated - and given that she had not slept in 2 days, we opted not to have them wake her in recovery. She slept for several more hours before finally waking up yesterday evening.

Our sweet nurse last night brought her a yummy Popsicle
when she finally decided to

Last night Derrick stayed in the hospital with her while my mom and I went to a hotel (thanks, Gary!) to finally get some sleep. Derrick sent me frequent text message updates, and apart from a fever which required medicines and a tornado watch, she had a good and mostly quiet night. She is now on IV antibiotics, but her food restrictions have been lifted and we are working on restoring her appetite.

Laying with El

She will be here at least through Tuesday while we watch her reactions to the antibiotics. We want to see her ESR and CRP levels begin to trend downwards, indicating that the antibiotics are working and the infection is gone. If her fever persists or worsens and her ESR and CRP levels remain high or higher, it could mean another pocket of infection we have yet to identify. That would require an MRI (under sedation) and more surgery, so we are praying she responds well to the antibiotics and we begin to see levels drop. They repeated the blood tests in this hospital for the first time this morning and established a baseline for her post-op. They will not run the tests again until Tuesday, so they've told us we have a boring day today.

They are only hooking up her IV to administer a dose of antibiotics (it takes about 3mins - 1hr) and they've finally removed her vital sign leads/monitor so she is cord-free most of the day. The rest of the family has taken her down the hall to a set of benches for a change of view. They say she is eating goldfish and having a good time! It's so good to see her smile and laugh again!

We are waiting anxiously to begin to see improvement with her left leg, but the ortho surgeon says it could easily take 3-4 days.

Thank you again for your prayers - I hope this explanation helps you know how to pray specifically. I will try to post updates here as they come to us.

Investing Spring Break

2011-03-18T20:07:00.001-05:00

I just finished looking through 500+ photos of the renovation work being done at Pleasant Hills Children's Home for this year's edition of Supreme Home Makeover. I was excited to spot our students in some of the photos and are proud of the work they're doing this Spring Break. When most college students spend Spring Break partying, 200+ volunteers (including Chi Alpha students, contractors, church workers, and more) have come together in Palestine, TX to remodel / improve facilities at the children's home! Click either picture to visit the Facebook page of the Children's Home and see the pictures for yourself!

Nacogdoches on Bravo TV!

2011-03-03T15:38:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to a fellow Nacogdoches-ian (ite, person) on winning this cooking contest! I think her recipe sounds AMAZING!!!

Check out the 5 minute video about the finalists' recipes here!

New Dorm Design for FRESHMEN!

2011-02-01T20:58:00.000-06:00

It's always exciting to see people share something you love - in this case, freshmen! There is no experience quite like your freshman year in college. We believe, and teach our Chi Alpha students to believe, in the value of reaching freshmen on campus.

SFA has released design drawings for the new ALL-FRESHMEN dorm they've been working on the last year or so. Well, they built the parking garage that will help accommodate all the new students. Now they are starting work on the dorm itself. It looks to be wonderfully designed and the fact that it is geared towards freshmen specifically, with certain elements included just to help ease the transition into college, just warms my heart!

Check out the rest of the details by clicking on the pic - you'll be redirected to the latest news release from the University!

3 Deaths

2011-02-01T20:18:00.004-06:00

This has been a very difficult week for our Chi Alpha group and our church family.

A week ago this past Monday (1/24), the first of two church members was killed in a motorcycle accident. His name was Jesse Lopez, age 54. As our church was reeling from that tragedy, a church member's son was killed in a separate motorcycle accident just a few days later. Justin Shanks, son of Linda and step-son of Dave Marshall, was just 28 years old.

Then this past Saturday, the mother of one of our Chi Alpha students was killed in a car accident. Matt's mom, Connie McKay, was hit by a drunk driver.

Our hearts hurt for the loss that our friends and loved ones are feeling. We are praying our God will bring them some comfort and ask that you please pray with us.

In times like these it's easy to remember, so before I forget again, let me say - We love you!

In memory of Connie McKay, Justin Shanks, and Jesse Lopez

(I could not find a picture of Jesse - Click their picture to read a little about them)


Connie McKay, School teacher		Justin Shanks, U.S. Air Force

Stressed Students

2011-01-28T14:32:00.000-06:00

Check out this article on the stress levels of college freshmen this year. This is the generation we work with every day and we can attest to an increased sense of being stressed. What we haven't been able to figure out is exactly what they are stressed about.

ABC News

SALT 2010 Breaks ALL the Records

2011-01-20T17:18:00.000-06:00

I hope you had a great holiday season with your family!
Derrick and I did a LOT of traveling, but we got to see all our family and that was so great! We ended the year at our annual SALT Conference, but this year's conference was like NO other!

JOIN THE TEAM >
You can support all the Lord's doing at SFA by giving special gifts through our secure online donation page. For details on more ways to give financially, check out our Join the Team page!

Nacogdoches girl dies in shooting accident

2011-01-13T08:01:00.001-06:00

Our hearts go out to Professors Cable.

Nacogdoches girl dies in shooting accident - KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |

Katelyn's Christmas Out Takes

2010-12-17T16:04:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas to all!
To see the keepers, check out Katelyn's Christmas Pics Album on Facebook!

The Challenge: Dare YOU to MOVE!

2010-12-15T22:35:00.000-06:00

A very important message from Derrick Jackson (and Katelyn) to our students about XA Service this coming Spring Semester! Please pray with us as we make a MAJOR mid-year transition!

Toilet Seat Promises - October 2010 Newsletter

2010-10-20T11:48:00.000-05:00

Yes, toilet seats! Check out our latest newsletter for the story of the toilet seat at Altitude 2010!

JOIN THE TEAM >
You can support all the Lord's doing at SFA by giving special gifts through our secure online donation page. For details on more ways to give financially, check out our Join the Team page!

Home? (aka Our Possible New House!)

2010-06-29T07:18:00.001-05:00

Derrick and I are so excited to tell you that we have officially entered contract to buy a new house for our family! In case you didn't know, we have been living at the XA House for the last year while we saved money for down payment and whatnot. It has been a huge help to be able to stay there and the students have been really respectful, giving us lots of "space" for family time when Katelyn was born. But we are really excited to be moving forward with a house.

You can see by the picture to the right, it's an older house in need of some serious curb appeal. But when you walk inside, it's completely different! The interior has been completely redone, including laminate wood floors, an updated kitchen with tile countertops and backsplash, and updated bathrooms as well. It's currently 2 bedroom, 2 baths, but there is an extra room at the back of the house (the only room not redone) that we will likely turn into the master bedroom within a year or so - it will be MASSIVE!

We will spend the next week arranging our home inspection and we are most nervous about this step. We know of a couple of things that will not pass inspection, but are nervous about any new discoveries that could be made and what that will mean for the appraisal later (and our decision to pursue purchase). Please pray with us for God's direction in all this and for a clean inspection this week!

If you'd like to look at the house, here is a link to its listing online!

The End

2010-05-14T13:11:00.002-05:00

The school year officially ends with classes today - our students have filed through the XA House the last couple days, buying new t-shirts for next year and saying goodbyes. We are both sad to see them go and excited to start planning for next year. We are excited to have the largest leadership team yet in our time at SFA and cannot wait to see what's in store for the future of this group!

Many thanks to all those who have sent financial and prayer support for us personally as well as the ministry - you guys are just amazing!

Thank God for Fountains! - April 2010 Newsletter

2010-04-14T10:41:00.000-05:00

Check out our newsletter to find out what happened when the cops showed up to water baptisms...

HAPPY EASTER TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

Way to Go, Gillen!

2010-04-06T09:06:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Michael Gillen, current SFA student and Chi Alpha leader, for his mention in the Daily Sentinel. Michael is working with the University to develop a new iPhone app for recruiting students to SFA. Check it out here!

Reminder of Why We Do XA

2010-03-30T10:35:00.004-05:00

Sometimes, the students really do get it... they listen, they learn, they grow, they change... and when they leave, the world becomes a different place. Listen to Adrian's story... he was one of our students during our days at LSU (Click the Cuban).

Profundities From Our Students

2010-03-26T11:44:00.001-05:00

Profundity: 1. Great depth, 2. Depth of intellect, feeling, or meaning, 3. Something profound

Current Financial Needs

2010-03-25T13:17:00.017-05:00

Everyone knows it takes money to run a ministry and Chi Alpha is no different. Derrick and I are blessed to actually be required by our national supervisors to raise a full budget to be active on campus full-time. The stress of trying to run an active ministry in addition to maintaining a full or even part-time job is too much for one person to handle. Derrick and I know that the sacrifices of our financial support team members make it possible for us to do what we do and we love you guys for it! Seriously! We think about you guys all the time - we pray for you and your families. Thank you for giving!

Please pray about what you can do to be part of the work God is doing at SFA, and see below for a list of our current financial needs!

Current Financial Needs:

Monthly Support - In order to reach 100% of our monthly budget, we need an additional $651.57 in pledged, monthly support. (Any money received monthly is a HUGE blessing and greatly appreciated; but the national office only considers pledged commitments as counting towards our 100% raised status)

Ministry Monthly Support - Our personal finances are completely separate from those of Chi Alpha at SFA. The ministry also runs on monies given by alumni, students, friends and family, and churches. As the full-time, primary Director, Derrick is also responsible for raising these funds (in addition to our personal budget). We are currently working to raise an additional $250 in monthly support for the ministry. This money would allow us to pay our monthly expenses in full.

*If you would like a breakdown of the minstry's finances, we can provide you with it.

XA House - The house on North Street is used for office space for staff and, currently, housing for me and Derrick! Under normal circumstances, we lease the rooms upstairs to students - leaving the downstairs space for offices and event use. It's a wonderful property and has recently been updated in several major ways. However, there are a few repairs that need to be made to the XA House/property:

Repair kitchen pipe (it broke Fall Semester and will cost around $1,000 to fix - it has been temporarily fixed, but will not last much longer)
Repair collapsing retention wall along south side of property
Fix broken bricks on the front porch
Pressure wash the front porch

XA House Furniture & Decorations - The furniture in the Chi Alpha House (1613 North Street) is currently mis-matched and rapidly falling apart. We would love to be able to replace it. Pieces Needed include at least one couch, loveseat, and oversize chair (the rooms are large enough that more can fit). We also need new curtain rods in the living room, dining room, and office. We currently have only two mirrors hanging on the walls, both of which belong to us (one of which is an antique - I would really like that one back safely in my house). We would love to do something creative and unique to the ministry and/or SFA on the walls as both decoration and an expression of who Chi Alpha is and what we're all about. All furniture needs to be durable (it's got to hold up to college students!). We have a few ideas of furniture we like if you're interested in helping in this area!

Sound & Lighting Equipment - Chi Alpha currently has a functional sound system that is stored and used at the Chi Alpha Cafe. However, we are quickly outgrowing that space (Praise the Lord!) and as a result, need to make some major updates to the sound system. Think portability on all sound equipment, as we will be loading and unloading the entire system every week for XA Service. Sound/Lighting Equipment is used not only at XA Service meetings, but also at almost every fellowship event hosted by the ministry. Here's what we need:

2 (active/powered) main speakers
2 (active/powered) subwoofers
1 smaller, portable sound board (24 channel, preferably)
Instrument stands
3 microphones (and cords, if corded)
1 music stand
2 boom microphone stands
1 direct box
4 microphone cables
1 Furman power conditioner
Drum mic kit
2 Light Trees with 4 Par Cans on each (8 total)
Lighting Controller
Video Projector (or replacement bulb for current projector)

Contact Derrick for details on preferred brands, current equipment, etc.

Office Equipment - We are currently blessed to be able to use our church's office to print whatever we need for the ministry. However, it's a bit of a drive to get there. If we could raise the funds to cover the additional office supplies, we would love to have a color laser printer for printing promo materials, newsletters for us and our quarterly alumni newsletter (The Legacy).

International Student House - We currently manage a rental property bought specifically to house international students at SFA. We want to reach out to international students from around the world through cultural exchanges and real friendships - I can't think of anytime this happens better than when you share a house together! Our property at 329 Blount Street here in Nac is in a prime spot - across the street from campus, one block from the stadium! Six bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, with a full kitchen and living/dining room, the house can hold up to 8 girls (at the time of this posting, we only have 5 full-time renters). Structurally, the house is in great shape; however, the interior needs quite a bit of work!

Repair broken burner and surface heat indicator light -OR- New kitchen stove
Hall Shower needs new shower head & hose
Front door locks are not working
Closet doors replaced or repaired
Wall repairs in several bedrooms
New window blinds throughout
Broken dishwasher removed and converted to cabinet space
Wall paint throughout house
New flooring throughout house
New Living and Dining Room furniture & window treatments
Second refrigerator freezer added (with 6-8 girls at any given time, freezer space is a premium!

To see pics of the house in its current state, click here.

XA Cafe - Every week 50+ students meet together to learn more about who God is and His plan for their lives through singing, interacting with one another, prayer, the preaching of God's Word, and living out the Gospel! And all that happens in a renovated garage! Just before we arrived at SFA, the twin, two-car garages at the International House were combined and converted into a meeting space for Chi Alpha's use. When we started having XA Service meetings there, we had around 20-30 students each meeting. As you can see, the Lord is growing the group by leaps and bounds! Before our first meeting in the 2008-2009 school year, we needed to finish up some of the work on the Cafe: we painted the wooden stage, cleaned up the tables and chairs, borrowed sound equipment we were missing, and put out some large rugs from Ashley's sister to cover the unfinished floor. It was a great improvement! This school, we were thrilled to have the funds to be able to replace broken and mismatched folding chairs (we need more seating to accommodate all the new people!) and add wall decorations, too! It's beginning to feel much more comfortable in the room now. (See pics of the Cafe here!) The last major project to complete the Cafe is to finish the floors. We have two options: the first is to stain the concrete and the second to put in carpeting. If you are interested in helping with this project, please contact Derrick today!

UPDATE: Katelyn's Hips

2010-02-22T08:31:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted - we did hear back from the doctor Friday morning with the results of Katelyn's hip x-rays. HER HIPS ARE TOTALLY FINE! Wahooooooo! Praise the Lord! No harness!

Thank you for your prayers!

Katelyn's Hips

2010-02-16T12:50:00.005-06:00

Katelyn had her 4 month checkup with the pediatrician yesterday morning. All was well except that Jim felt a "click" in her left hip.

We are going to the hospital on Thursday to have an x-ray taken to determine whether she has DDH - developmental hip displasia. It means her hip is either out of socket a bit or part of it misshapen. If they decide she does have DDH it looks like she will be in a harness for 6-8 weeks. But depending on the type of DDH she has, she could also end up needing surgery at some point. We are praying they will find nothing wrong in the x-ray Thursday morning!

In case you're like me and want to understand what DDH really is - here's a quick link to a very informative and pretty easy to understand article about it.

DDH Article

On the fun side of our visit yesterday, we were given permission to start Katelyn on "solid" foods - so we had our first attempt at rice cereal this morning! Here are a few pics!

View all her pics here!

Garner Hall - Not Going Down Without a Fight!

2010-02-08T10:05:00.002-06:00

This is Garner Hall, the tallest building in town and one of the oldest dormitories at SFA - scheduled to be torn down this semester. As this video (shot by Robyn Rosencutter, a Chi Alpha student) shows, Garner is not going down without a fight...

Cookie-Bakers & Leaf-Rakers

2010-02-08T09:20:00.002-06:00

Derrick preached at International Church of Nacogdoches yesterday morning, and he did a wonderful job. He spoke about what it means to be a witness of Christ - and what our goal should be as the church. Many times we get really excited about the Gospel (with good reason!) and, out of that excitement, we make a couple of mistakes:

1. We think wrongly about our role as the church in the world: "Every person in this city is going to come to know the Lord!" "All the people in my class are going to get saved!" Those things just are not realistic - nor are they directly our responsibility. We are called to be witnesses - Chi Alpha literally means "Christ's ambassadors/representatives." Our job is to be a credible witness of who God is to the people around us - a credible witness.

2. We get that we ought to be a witness, but forget that our witness needs to be credible. Credible = not freaky. We do not have to be super-spiritual (i.e. speak only in KJV or scream when we pray) in order to be spiritual. And we do not have to freak people out in order to share the Gospel.

Derrick summed it all up with this: Everybody likes cookies - Nobody likes to rake leaves. So the next time your tempted to do something freaky (even if it's driven by a sincere excitement for the Lord), go bake some cookies for your neighbor in the dorm... or rake up all the leaves in your neighbor's yard for him.

"God, help us all to become cookie-bakers and leaf-rakers!"

*Also posted at sfaxa.org

Sneak Peek

2010-02-02T12:36:00.003-06:00

I (Ashley) have been working on re-vamping our church's design work. In particular, I have been working on an updated website. It's not live yet, but if you'd like a sneak peek, click the link below.

International Church of Nacogdoches

Eventually, the web address will be iconag.org - but we're gonna keep the site "hidden" until it's fully ready to launch!

Life's a Dance

2010-01-23T21:07:00.005-06:00

4 photos here and more on facebook!

January 2010 Newsletter - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-18T13:46:00.003-06:00

JOIN THE TEAM >
You can support all the Lord's doing at SFA by giving special gifts through our secure online donation page. For details on more ways to give financially, check out our Join the Team page!

Ashley's Project This Week

2010-01-15T14:16:00.002-06:00

I have been working on a webpage designed to help connect alumni to each other and the ministry. Take a look at the alumni page for SFA Chi Alpha: XA Reflections !

(Click Screenshot to visit)

TWEET, TWEET, TWEET...

2010-01-14T16:30:00.007-06:00

Ashley now has a Twitter:
follow me today!

twitter.com/xaashley

Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What's happening?

Share and discover what's happening right now, anywhere in the world.

Join the conversation.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T11:03:00.001-06:00

Katelyn is here!

2009-10-18T11:02:00.001-05:00

We are excited to announce the birth of our first daughter...

Katelyn Michelle Jackson
Born October 11 (Ashley's Birthday)
6 lbs 15 oz
20"
At Nacogdoches Medical Center, Nacogdoches, TX

October 2009 Newsletter

2009-10-06T10:57:00.005-05:00

JOIN THE TEAM >
You can support all the Lord's doing at SFA by giving special gifts through our secure online donation page. For details on more ways to give financially, check out our Join the Team page!

Katelyn's Growing... and Growing!

2009-10-05T10:59:00.000-05:00

We had another ultrasound today to determine whether Katelyn had turned and how big she is getting. The verdict? She is STILL breech, in the exact same position and location in fact - seems she is perfectly content to stay right where she is! And she has gained almost 2 lbs in 3 weeks, weighing in at 7lbs. 7oz. With all that in mind, we are now considering a C-Section at 39 weeks, which is just 2.5 weeks from now! 39 weeks happens to fall on the weekend of SFA's Homecoming, a particularly busy time for Chi Alpha, so we are going to talk with our doctor about the possibility of moving the delivery up a week, putting her potential birthday around the 16th - WHOA! Please pray with us for wisdom and her healthy, safe, easy arrival into the world and our life.

The cutest thing ever: according the ultrasound, she has hair... and the chubbiest cheeks I've ever seen!!!

Baby Katelyn is Almost Here!

2009-09-14T11:10:00.003-05:00

We have just gotten home from our latest checkup with my doctor. The baby is healthy - and HUGE! With over 6 weeks until my due date, she is alread 5 lbs. 12 ozs - that puts her roughly two weeks larger than she "should" be. The doctor told us she is still within normal range, but certainly on the large side. :)

Our next milestone is for her to turn - she is currently very comfortable in a breech position and with her being so big, there is a little concern that she will get too big to make the turn herself. They do not allow breech deliveries, so if she does not turn I am looking at a C-Section delivery. Of course, we would rather not go that route because of the lengthy and difficult recovery. Please pray with us that Katelyn will turn sometime within the next 4 weeks. That is our cutoff date for making some tough decisions about delivery.

Isn't she beautiful? :)

JULY 2009 Newsletter - ADVENTURES IN ARIZONA

2009-07-01T15:44:00.000-05:00

Our New Prayer / Business Cards Are Here!

2009-05-28T17:47:00.000-05:00

Undie Run 2009

2009-05-07T08:12:00.006-05:00

I was reminded again this morning just how much SFA needs the Lord when I stumbled across a Facebook Event for the 2009 Undie Run. Yep, it's exactly what it sounds like... an excuse to run around in underwear posing as a fundraiser for the local Women's Shelter and Homeless Clothes Drive.

"In 1973 a streaking epidemic hit SFA's campus. People were streaking at football games, around campus, and through dorms. However, in the spring of 1974, Ralph Steen, President of SFA at the time announced an entire day when students could streak up and down East College street. This was a historical event for any campus during that time, and this Undie Run also serves as an ode to that day.

We made history again last year hosting the first Lumberjack Undie Run with over 300 students participating, and donated ALOT of clothes to the Nacogdoches Homeless shelter.

Bring your friends and have your friends bring friends!! Invite every Lumberjack!

What: 2nd Annual Lumberjack Undie Run!
When: May 7th, 10pm. 2009!
Where: Meet at Surfin' Steve and follow the Undy Flag!

Bring Running shoes, sweet undies and clothes to donate!"

Check out the event here.

April 2009 Newsletter - NEW LIFE

2009-04-28T10:00:00.003-05:00

Prayer Requests

2009-04-25T10:03:00.006-05:00

With all the exciting changes happening in our lives, we really need the Lord to guide our steps and decisions. We would be honored if you would pray with us in these areas:

Student leaders for next year are wrapping up training and having interviews this week. These are the students who will really be the driving force of the group next year. They are young, largely freshmen, but we have seen the Lord speak some amazing things to them this year. They love Him, they're learning how to really walk with Him everyday, and they have a real desire to see students know Him at SFA. We are so proud of them! And we are excited to have such a growth in leadership - from 1 this school year to 7 for next fall! Wow! God is so amazing!
We are working towards buying a house in Nac - hoping to be able to move into it as quickly after we move here in June as possible, but definitely before the school year begins. We have our eye on one property in particular and are working through the loan process now. Because we are self-employed everything has gotten a bit more complicated (if you can believe that) and we are no longer as confident as we were that we will qualify for enough of a loan to buy this house... or maybe any house at all. It's all numbers game and it depends on what the underwriters want from us for proof of income. Please pray with us that they will understand how our finances work, because if they do there's no reason we should not qualify for this loan!
With the transition to SFA Chi Alpha and Derrick's recent receipt of minister's credentials, we are eligible for an increase in our monthly budget - just in time to help with the extra expenses of the new baby!!! Praise God! Now we just need to raise the extra funds. We will be working all summer to raise $1000 in new monthly support - the extra money will help pay for work expenses and, of course, the baby. If you know anyone who would be interested in hearing about what the Lord is doing at SFA, please contact us! And please pray with us that we will be connected to people and can communicate with passion our hearts for this campus - and that people would respond in giving to the work here!
As you might have heard by now, we are expecting our first child (and with how sick I've been... it may be our only)!!! :) Because of my health problems, we were never told exactly what the chances of us conceiving were - they would only say our chances were much lower. So when we found out we were pregnant, we were absolutely thrilled! I am 14 weeks and due November 1st right now. Please pray with us for a healthy baby (I want a boy, Derrick wants a girl) and a healthy pregnancy! And that I would be able to find a good doctor and hospital here in Nac for the delivery this fall - so far, it's been difficult.
We are scheduled to lead a team of 25 people to Guadalajara, Mexico at the end of next month to help pioneer a Chi Alpha group on the University of Guadalajara. We are, of course, watching the news of the swine flu very closely and are worried about the effect it will have on our trip. Please pray with us that the disease will stop spreading completely so we can continue with our trip as planned!

Preacher on Campus

2009-04-23T11:46:00.011-05:00

The only shocking part of the scene on campus Tuesday was that it's the first time we've seen it at SFA this entire school year. Saint Jesse, as he referred to himself, walked onto campus around noon Tuesday and began drawing a crowd to listen to his message. And what a message it was!

This is not the first, or even the second, time we have encountered preachers like Saint Jesse. Our first taste came when we were only students at Louisiana Tech - Brother Jim was the main man for those campaigns. Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Lamar University in Beaumont, and LSU in Baton Rouge... no matter where the campus, the format is always the same. The giant signs with messages warning of judgment and wrath, the attacking statements/accusations hurled at students and general passersby, and the just-plain-offensive remarks made to anyone who dares resist the message. It's more of a slam-fest than open-air preaching. Students, of course, both love and hate the visits to campus - mostly because they love to hate the preachers!

Tuesday's appearance showed little to no changes in attitude, performance, or method. The message went out bluntly, and rather loudly: "God hates all fornicators, black people, homosexuals!" All this coming from a man who claims the right to make such statements because he no longer sins. The students were irate, yelling in his face, arguing from a sub-par knowledge of Scripture, and, when all of that failed, mocking his message and him personally (he was wearing suspenders that matched his pants exactly... the students had a field day!).

As usual, we started getting texts from our students asking if we'd heard about the crazy guy on campus. We headed to the Rusk Building, located prominently outside the Student Center in the plaza area of campus, to see what was going on. We were met by 4 or 5 of our students, who were clearly upset at what was happening. And, as usual, our role became walking them through an appropriate response and reaction to the scene. Derrick spent quite a while talking with the sign-holding assistant to Saint Jesse to no avail - they would not reveal the name of the church / organization sponsoring them. He only learned they were from Tyler, TX. The talks with the students were much more productive. We watched as their frustration and anger turned to sadness for the students so desperately trying to defend themselves against such hatred. We encouraged them to stay and pray for the students in the crowd and to start up conversations with people on the outskirts.

All in all, his permit ran up at 5pm on Wednesday evening and back to Tyler he went. As upset as many students got, experience has taught us that they will forget their passion and curiosity within a few hours of his departure. But, like we told the students standing in the sun, watching Saint Jesse bring several students to tears and wishing we could do more... "He is only here for two days; we are here all year long!"

God, remind us continually what we are fighting for. Stir our hearts, minds, and hands to do Your work at SFA!

To read one student's response in the Opinion section of today's Pine Log, click here. I warn you, though, it's as ignorant as much of Saint Jesse's message!

Student Charged for Shooting Threats Last Week

2009-04-22T17:00:00.000-05:00

I never would have expected it to be the Barbie doll type of girl to post such hateful, frightening flyers threatening to kill students both on and off campus last week.

But that's exactly how Jennifer Grant looks in her Facebook profile pic. The Pine Log, the SFA school paper, reports (echoing students' mocking opinions about the true source of the flyers last week) she wanted to get out of a test she was not prepared for. I'm sure now that she's been charged with a felony terroristic threat she would say it wasn't worth it. So sad.

Click here to read the full newspaper article in The Pine Log Onine.

Please Pray - Campus Alert at SFA!

2009-04-16T09:28:00.008-05:00

The Campus Alert system has been activated at SFA - threats of shootings on and off campus have been received by authorities! Please pray!

Read the official report here.
News coverage report here.

Please pray with us today for the safety of all SFA students, faculty, and staff - wisdom for the authorities making decisions - and protection for the police officers on duty today. God, please watch over our campus!

___________________________________________________________

As of Friday morning, 7:30am, police were confident the flyers were only threats. All was quiet on campus Thursday, except for a bit of stress from locking down the library while police looked for a "suspicious person" who turned out to be unrelated to the threats. Security will remain on campus throughout Friday, but all classes will continue as scheduled. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!

Overdue

2009-02-19T11:48:00.008-06:00

A few updates that are long overdue! HIGHLIGHTS: Leadership Training at SFA, Ultimate Frisbee as Missions?, and Guadalajara Bound!

Leadership Training:
We are now 3 weeks into our training of next year's potential small group leaders and I am reminded why this is one of my favorite times of the year! We have 9 folks in the class, 3 guys and 6 girls. Haha - we're whooping 'em! Every week somebody says something that lets us know they are learning. It's so much fun to begin letting these students in on all we've been doing for a semester and to watch them get excited about doing those things themselves is just beyond description. It's the passing of the torch and we are mid pass!

Ultimate Frisbee as Missions?
For some reason at the beginning of the year we started playing Ultimate Frisbee (UF) on the football field with new students we'd meet. It's become more than a tradition - it's really an obsession for some of our students! For a while it just became something fun to do - another activity, another event, blah, blah. But in the last 4 weeks, we have watched a handful of the guys really begin to understand the potential of our UF games for connecting people to Chi Alpha, and most importantly, the Kingdom. They started a Facebook Group to keep new folks updated on when they're playing. They pray before every game. And they make a conscious effort to invite people to small groups, services, and other Chi Alpha events. And it's working!

Guadalajara, Mexico
We are leading a team of 28 students to spend a week helping pioneer Chi Alpha on 14 campuses in one of the largest cities in Mexico this summer! We are honored to lead and overwhelmed at the amazing response we've had from students who want to go with us! Six students from SFA will join students from Sam Houston for 11 days in Guadalajara. We are excited and anxious for the trip. At present, all 28 students are actively raising funds to cover the $1,400 trip cost, so please pray with us for their success and God's always faithful provision!

World Missions Summit 2 - It's Up to Me!

2009-01-31T09:31:00.005-06:00

Hey guys! Hope you had a great Christmas and New Years. Ashley and I had a great time visiting with family and for New Years we had a great time at The World Missions Summit 2. Check out what happened at the Summit in our latest newsletter!

Bio > Derrick Jackson

2009-01-01T07:13:00.027-06:00

DERRICK, THE DIRECTOR:

Derrick has spent the last decade working with Chi Alpha in Louisiana and Texas, first as a student, then as part-time staff, and finally as a full-time, credentialled director. His passion is simple: make disciples for Christ. His method is relaxed and relational. In daily terms this looks alot like playing disc golf (4 over on 18), drinking lots of coffee (quad-shot Americano, black), and playing guitar (currently, Breedlove acoustic). And somewhere in the midst of putting for a Birdie, through the smell of freshly-ground espresso, and over the notes of a perfectly tuned guitar, he turns the conversation to the Lord.

FULL BIO:

Derrick and Ashley met as students in a Biology class at Louisiana Tech University - as Derrick likes to say, "We met in Biology but it was Chemistry.” Our college years in Chi Alpha were some of the most amazing of our lives - learning about God, how to serve Him, and falling more and more in love with Him everyday! God put in us both a deep desire to see Him do in the next generations of students what He did in us in college. God has called us to be Chi Alpha campus missionaries!

In 2004 we entered a year-long internship program under Eli Gautreaux, veteran campus missionary and director of the largest Chi Alpha group in the country, at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX. After serving 2.5 years on staff at Louisiana State University, we returned to Sam Houston to work once again with Eli. We spent that year leading a team every week to Stephen F. Austin to re-plant the Chi Alpha ministry there, and at the end of the year, we committed to God’s call to be a light for Christ at SFA full-time!

We were married in 2003 and have lived in 7 houses in 4 cities in two states in 6 years. In October 2009 we were blessed with our first child, Katelyn Michelle Jackson - on my (Ashley's) 29th birthday!

Amazing Moments - December 2008 Newsletter

2008-12-09T11:08:00.007-06:00

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and hopefully have most of your Christmas shopping done. This semester has flown by for Ashley and I as we have seen the Lord do some amazing work in student lives over these last 4 months!

Be sure to check out the rest of our website...it has more updates in between newsletters www.derrickandashley.com!

Marry the Church

2008-12-01T08:50:00.007-06:00

Derrick and I have had the great honor of becomming part of the International Church of Nacogdoches (formerly known as First Assembly of God / aka The Dream Center of Nacogodoches). Pastor Dennis graciously invited us to speak there yesterday morning about Chi Alpha at SFA. The church fully believes in and supports the mission of Chi Alpha on campus - they are absolutely amazing! We shared a ton of stories about all the Lord has been doing on campus and then Derrick preached about living for something bigger than ourselves...
Towards the end of his sermon, he told everyone how he had not slept at all the night before (which was 100% true... trust me!) - the Lord had been speaking to him. The Lord was saying that it's time for some of us to "marry the church." What does that mean? It means that for better or worse, I'm going to commit my heart, my life, my hands in this church - I will LOVE this church.

I have had an inexpressible prayer lurking right at the top of my heart for the last few weeks, but it had not fully surfaced. You know the feeling? You want so badly to pray something that is stirring in your heart, but you have no words. I have rested the last few weeks in the knowledge that before a word is on my lips, the Lord has heard my prayers. But when Derrick said those words Sunday morning, that surface prayer came bursting full-force into my mouth: LORD, WE NEED STUDENTS TO MARRY CHI ALPHA! A group of students to be built by the Lord into a foundation for His mission on this campus. We know the group is far from perfect, or even ideal, at this stage... we are not looking for students who pretend it is so. We are searching for students who will look honestly at the group, see all its flaws and beauty and potential and potential downfalls... and LOVE it! For better or worse, in sickness and in health - with their lives, the hearts, and their hands.

World Missions Summit Fundraising Progress

2008-11-05T08:44:00.014-06:00

Check here for updates on the progress of our fundraisers for sending students to the World Missions Summit 2 in Cincinnati, OH over New Year's Eve!

Penny Wars
Total Spent: $4
Total Raised: $197.63

On-Campus Plate Lunch Sale
Total Spent: $93.56
Total # of Tickets Sold: 49
Total Donations: $107.88
Total Raised: $259.32

Panhandling
Total Spent: $0
Total Raised: $731.72

Alumni Scholarships --> THANK YOU!!!
Total Given: $1,000

Student Organizational Relief Fund (SORF)
Total Available: $426

TOTAL RAISED: $2614.67

World Missions Summit 2

2008-11-02T20:33:00.004-06:00

Every December Chi Alpha hosts a regional event called SALT - once every four years The World Missions Summit takes the place of all the SALT conference around the country and everyone meets together for one world-wide conference! This year's conference is being held in Cincinnati, OH and we are very excited about the chance to expose our SFA students to God's plan for the whole world.

A few of the practical aspects of making this trip happen:

Travel Plans - Cincinnati = WINTER = SNOW! We need wisdom to know whether to try to ride a district bus or let the students drive themselves to the conference. The bus will be more expensive, but should be more safe.
Cost - The overall cost for a student to attend TWMS is about $300. Most college students don't just have an extra $300 lying around, so we need to help them raise that money.
Family Plans - Christmas / New Year's is always prime time for family gatherings.

Would you please pray with us for the students and this trip? We have been once before and God really does use this conference to speak to people about His heart for the world. Students will absolutely NOT regret going - we just have to get them there! Please pray with us for the things mentioned above: to know which travel option to choose, to have successful fundraisers with the students, and for families to be willing to work around the conference so students can come with us!

Eat 'Em Up Jacks, Funerals, and Weddings

2008-11-02T20:21:00.005-06:00

The last week has been a blur of activity for us. One of my close relatives passed away unexpectedly so we made a whirlwind trip home for the funeral. We were able to see Derrick's parent's for about half a day and were glad for that! The funeral was sad, but very encouraging too. I never knew much of my aunt's relationship with the Lord, but after hearing the details of her last few days, she really did walk with the Lord.

The day after we returned home from Louisiana, about 15 SFA students joined us in Huntsville for the annual SFA v. Sam Houston football game. While the Jacks battled the Kats on the field, Derrick and I went to Andrew & Leslie's wedding. They are two of our first-year interns - what a beautiful wedding! We left the reception a little early to make it back to our house in time for a post-game party with the SFA students.

Eli Gautreaux bought more BBQ meat than I knew what to do with and the students ate for hours! We spent the night hanging out in the backyard around our fire pit (which wasn't stolen after all!), talking and playing games. The weekend with the SFA students was very special to us - until now, the SFA folks haven't known much of our life in Huntsville so it was really great to have them in our house! The girls stayed at our house and we were up until almost 3am (that's 4am w/o the time change!) talking and having fun. This was the first chance the girls have really had to spend a weekend together and we had a blast! They are all so amazing and different and beautiful.

The girls and I stayed up so late because we were making journals by hand. I learned how to bind books recently and I made myself a small blank book to journal my prayers in. The girls found out and when the saw the book, they asked if they could make one too. So we stayed up binding books for journals! Haha. I couldn't help but think about all the things they will fill their journals with over the years - victories, defeats, prayers, hopes, dreams, questions, memories... and I feel very honored to be part of their stories!

John & Anita Koeshall

2008-10-29T17:30:00.000-05:00

Derrick and I were so privileged to spend a couple hours with John and Anita Koeshall, the A/G World Missions Directors for Europe. These guys have been in ministry for... well, 30 years and better, and they truly walk with the Lord. Such beautiful people.

We talked about a lot of things but towards the end of our time, the topic turned to our plans for the future: where will go from here and what do we want to do? As usual when I don't know the answers to questions I'm being asked, I just start talking. The more I talked the more I became convinced again that I want to be part of what the Lord is doing on college campuses! At one point, thinking of the darkness I see at SFA, I started crying. Because I respect these people so much, I felt a little silly - maybe childish is the right word... I don't really know. John was talking, but he stopped and looked right at me as I feverishly tried to get control of my emotions and tear ducts... and he said, "I love your tears. Don't be ashamed of them. I have prayed many times that God would make me a man of tears." Wow.

New Leadership

2008-10-28T20:41:00.001-05:00

I can hardly believe it, but it's time to start planning for how to train potential new leaders for SFA Chi Alpha's next school year! The Lord has been so good to us this year. We started the year with 1 student leader and about 2-3 additional students. We have consistently seen 30+ students at events. We have seen 2 students saved and many more are asking good questions and really seeking Truth. What a beautiful thing God is doing at SFA! The practical side of this story sounds very much like a conversation Jesus had with His disciples once: "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" (Mt. 9:35-38)

WE NEED WORKERS! When the interns graduate at the end of the school year, we will have only one small group leader left. It would be negligent of us to not make preparations for continuing to disciple the people God has connected us with this year.

Would you please pray with us that the Lord would call a group of 5-10 students to lead small groups next year and for their development as leaders?

October 2008 Newsletter

2008-10-18T13:11:00.003-05:00

Altitude08 Re-Cap

2008-10-05T13:26:00.012-05:00

"SO, HOW HAS THE WEEKEND BEEN FOR YOU?"

Those eloquent words started one of the most exciting, encouraging conversations with the students from SFA who joined us for a weekend in Dallas at the Altitude08 conference (for you old-school Chi Alphans, think Fall Breakaway at a hotel!).

Over the next hours we listened to students share their hearts and their relationships with the Lord with each other. They were all just as excited to hear from the others as they were to share their own stories. The sense of unity and love really was amazing. After each student finished sharing, everyone would applaud. Haha - it was so funny, but you knew they really meant it. They loved hearing what the Lord had done for their friend!

Among the things shared that night: two students had made a decision to follow Christ for the first time; another had re-committed his life to Christ; several others had received some peace from the Lord in the midst of some serious life pain; and one student is now seriously pursuing a call into full-time ministry post-graduation! What an amazing weekend!

We want to say thanks to all of our supporters for your prayers and giving - without you we would not be able to do the things we do - and we absolutely love what we do!

Visit the SFA xareflections website for all the photos from Altitude08!!!

First Chi Alpha Service... Not What We Expected

2008-09-12T13:13:00.001-05:00

You know how you make a plan and then you set out to accomplish the plan and somewhere along the way you just start to wonder who was the genius who came up with this plan to begin with? That's totally where my mind was around 6pm the night of September the 8th, aka the night of our first Chi Alpha Service at SFA. We were finishing the set-up of chairs at the Chi Alpha Cafe a block off campus and, to be very honest, I was really struggling to believe there would be enough students to fill the 20-ish metal folding chairs we'd just lined up. I'm a woman of great faith, I know. But we walked onto this campus knowing exactly one student - she knew a handful more, but there just wasn't much happening. Me, Derrick, Kevin (a 6' tall black guy who's into football), Brandon (a crazy-high energy kid who drinks Mountain Dew for breakfast), and Brett (the quiet one from Kansas who doesn't understand why it's so hot in Texas). Let's just say my hopes weren't too high.

We sat in staff meeting that morning and discussed all the contingencies. What to do if, like the weather threatened, it rained. What to do if no one showed up. What to do if we had 10 people and 20 chairs. What to do if the girls who live in the house part of the Cafe walked through service carrying their dirty laundry! We had a plan for everything. Except the one thing that actually happened. In the end, it did rain (but only for about 20 minutes at 6:15pm) and no one needed to do laundry that night... but the 20 chairs were

NOT ENOUGH!!!

We had 40 students come to the first meeting!

August 2008 Newsletter

2008-08-06T13:18:00.000-05:00

June 2008 Newsletter

2008-06-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

May 2008 Newsletter

2008-05-05T13:22:00.000-05:00

Why Do We Do XA?

2007-01-01T13:10:00.001-06:00

Frequently Asked Questions

2007-01-01T12:49:00.007-06:00

Questions About Chi Alpha:

How was Chi Alpha started?
What makes Chi Alpha different?
What is important to Chi Alpha?
What activities does Chi Alpha offer each week?

Questions About the Giving System:

How do you make a living?
How does your financial support system work?
Are there any ways to support you other than monthly partnership?
Are you going to seminary?
Are contributions tax-deductible for me?
How do I fill out the automatic credit/debit transaction form?
How are the funds I donate used?

How was Chi Alpha started?
The beginnings of Chi Alpha run back to the late 1940s when J. Robert Ashcroft, the father of Senator John Ashcroft, began encouraging the General Council of the Assemblies of God to start a ministry that would reach beyond the church walls to students on secular college campuses.

Students at Southwest Missouri State University who were already meeting informally put the idea into practice and the first official Chi Alpha chapter was established in 1953 at that campus. Since then Chi Alpha has grown to over 200 groups here in the U.S. and has a close association with hundreds of other groups around the world.

The name Chi Alpha was developed around the fraternity/sorority Greek system and honor societies of the 1950s. It was first used at Southwest Missouri State University in 1953. Chi Alpha takes its name from the first two letters of the Greek words, "Christou Apostoloi"-Christ's Ambassadors or Christ's Sent Ones.
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What makes Chi Alpha different?
We are focused on transforming our world, locally and around the globe. We experience the supernatural. We work hard to learn from and join with international students. We strive to be multicultural. We see that faith and thinking are related.
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What is important to Chi Alpha?
--Asking God for help (like during your Organic Chemistry final). We call this prayer.
--Doing what Jesus would do (for instance, actually attending Organic Chemistry once in a while). We call this discipleship.
--Helping each other (think study partner for Organic Chemistry). We call this fellowship.
--Telling God thank you (especially after passing Organic Chemistry). We call this worship.
--Transforming the world (using Organic Chemistry to alleviate diseases that afflict impoverished countries). We call this witness.
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What events does Chi Alpha offer each week?
Each Chi Alpha group will naturally have different events. Most offer the same type of events, though, so these will be somewhat similar to those of any religious group. At Sam Houston, we offer two main events each week:

1. Small Groups--The key to reaching this generation of students is relationship. Rules and regulations don't appeal to them. One of the most effective tools for reaching students has been small groups. A small group is a group of guys or girls (they're not co-ed) who meet each week to discuss the issues that college students face everyday. Life-long friendships are built in these groups and they have proven to be effective in relating the gospel to college life.

2. XA Service--The ministry at Sam Houston has grown to over 600 students in the last five years but then they reached a plateau. In an effort to grow the group, they have split the students into three weekly services. Each week students meet together for a short time of fellowship before praise and worship, group discipleship, and prayer. God is always faithful to speak to us.
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How do you make a living?
As Chi Alpha campus missionaries, we are appointed through the Assemblies of God church. In most other denominations, each church organization is required to send money, along with any donations from individual members, to the Missions Board, which is then distributed to the missionaries. In the Assemblies of God church, each church organization is not required to send money to a "Missions Board." Many of the churches do, but it is not a requirement. Instead, the Assemblies of God church allows the individual members to support individual missionaries. Depending on where a missionary is located (as well as several other factors), a Maximum Dispersement is set for him/her by the Assemblies of God home office. Each missionary is then responsible for raising his/her support. It generally takes about 1-2 months of solid support-raising to get a $2,000.00 budget raised 100%. Support can come from anyone who wants to be a part of this ministry. Churches, church members, family, friends, even strangers can all join with us to reach the college campus with the message of Christ.

If you are interested in joining with us, please check out our how to give page.
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How does your financial support system work?
In order for us to work full-time on campus, we MUST have our budget fully raised. The system of support is actually quite simple; let me explain how it works.

We find people (mayble like you) who have a heart for college students and who are willing (and able) to
contribute money to see God move on our secular college campuses. Those people fill out a pledge form and mail it to us along with
their contribution. There is a space on our pledge form to indicate what type and the amount of the contribution. We will make copies and then
send it to The U.S. Missions Office who will then process it and send the giver a receipt for tax purposes.
(***Yes, all donations are tax deductible***) If the donation is in the form of a monthly pledge, the
giver then keeps a portion of the receipt to send with the next month's donation. And that's all there is to it.

If you have a minute, please take a look at our pledge form. It will help
to understand how the process works. If you have any questions, please give us a call or send an
email.
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Are there any ways to support you other than monthly partnership?

Yes! There are several different ways to support this ministry financially.

1. Annual Pledge: There is a minimum amount required for annual pledges. The total annual contribution must total
$500 or more. If you break this down to a per month amount, it's $41.66 per month (for a $500 annual pledge). The U.S.
Missions Office will take your $500.00 and give us $41.66 per month for one year. This type of contribution does count
towards our budget. There is only one type of pledge that does not count towards our budget and that is a special gift.

2. Special Gift: For this type, there are no restrictions on the amount of the gift; however, unlike the pledged
contributions, the special gift does not count towards our budget.
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Are you going to seminary?

Yes and no. We will not be physically going to a seminary. During our internship program, we took seminary or Bible courses through
correspondence classes. A few of the required classes included Old and New Testament Surveys, The Life of Christ, Introduction to Theology, and
many others. As of the end of our internship program, Derrick and I both have 9 credit hours of seminary classes. We will continue
taking these courses in the future to advance in our biblical education and credentials as ministers.
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How do I fill out the automatic credit/debit transaction form?

Ledger: 700-001
Sub-Ledger: 604049-7
Class: 00
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How are the funds I donate used?

Technically, all funds given to our ministry are actually given to the Assemblies of God, the denomination with which I am a minister and which sponsors Chi Alpha Campus Ministries. The Assemblies of God promises to disburse gifts in accordance with the wishes of the donor and in accordance with Assemblies of God policies.
So what relevant policies does the Assemblies of God have?

Missionaries are assigned an amount of money that they must raise. This is commonly known as a missionary budget.

This budget has two components: the personal budget and the work budget.

The personal budget covers salaries and benefits (insurance and retirement). For US missions, the Assemblies of God
categorizes ministry assignments into one of three cost-of-living indexes. Personal budgets are monitored very closely and
are adjusted only under extreme circumstances.

The work budget covers everything else: things like outreach materials, Bibles, office supplies, meeting space expenses
(decorations and rental fees, for example), music equipment, retreat expenses, and ministry-related travel expenses. Really
anything that helps us achieve our mission of ministering to OU students, faculty, and staff.

By Assemblies of God policy, until missionaries fully raise their assigned budget they are not allowed to launch their
ministry. This is because the Assemblies wants missionaries to succeed, and as a denomination we’ve learned through
experience that one of the best ways to guarantee long-term success is by requiring full funding up front.

Also by Assemblies of God policy, the money that comes in goes first to support the missionary financially and then to
support the missionary’s work. In other words, if only 75% of funds come in one month then it’s the work budget that gets
shortchanged instead of the personal budget. This is according to the theory that a mission can survive without office
supplies for a month, but if the missionary gets evicted because they can’t pay rent the mission will suffer much more
lasting harm.

Once a month missionaries are issued a check from the Assemblies of God. That check contains only what has been given
that month up to the amount of the assigned personal budget. There is a 5% administration fee taken off the top.
Incidentally, that’s an incredibly low administration fee: other missions organizations have rates as high as 20%!

The work budget and any excess funds sit in designated accounts. When the missionary has a work expense (say we mail an
evangelistic CD-ROM to every student on campus), we pay it out of our own pocket and submit that expense to the Assemblies
of God for reimbursement. We are reimbursed if and only if there are sufficient funds available. That reimbursement is
tacked onto next month’s check alongside the personal budget.

Here’s the bit to remember: the personal budget acts like a cap whereas the work budget acts like a springboard. We cannot
receive more than our assigned salary, but we can receive a theoretically unlimited amount for ministry expenses (as much
as people are willing to give). We are responsible to document each ministry expense and demonstrate to the Assemblies of
God that it was a legitimate use of God’s money.

So here’s the bottom line: money given is used to pay the minister first and any excess is used to pay for ministry expenses.
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How to Give - Join the Team!

2007-01-01T12:39:00.013-06:00

We are on a mission to reach tomorrow's leaders today with the life-changing truth of Jesus Christ. God is constructing a team to accomplish this and you are invited to become a vital part of that team through financial and prayer support.

God considers those who partner financially with a ministry to have a share in the ministry. 3 John 1:8 says, "So we ourselves should support them so that we may become partners with them for the truth."

You are invited to become a partner today and have a share in the ministry of Chi Alpha at Stephen F. Austin State University.

There are two main ways to give:

Monthly

Special Gift

GIVE BY MONTHLY AUTOMATIC CREDIT/DEBIT CARD:

Currently, over 20% of our support team uses the automatic credit / debit transaction for monthly donations and they love it! Giving this way encourages accountability, cuts paperwork, and saves money. We invite you to give by automatic monthly credit/debit card transaction!

Print and fill out a copy of our pledge form.

Please note the section to the right titled Credit/Debit Card - include your credit card info here.

Download the Authorization Form and fill it out as well. Use the following inside the box:

Missionary/Ministry Name: Derrick Jackson
Missionary/Ministry Account Number: 2758993
Class: 00
Amount: Your intended monthly donation

Please mail the completed Pledge Form and Credit Card Authorization Form to: Assemblies of God, 1445 Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65802.
All giving is tax-deductible. You will be mailed a receipt for tax purposes each time you give.

GIVE BY MONTHLY CHECK:

Fill out a pledge form, either online or the printable version of our pledge form.
Write check.
Mail your first check and/or your pledge form to Assemblies of God, 1445 Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65802.
All giving is tax-deductible. You will be mailed a receipt for tax purposes each time you give.

SPECIAL GIFT BY CHECK:

Make a check payable to Assemblies of God and include our account #2758993 in the memo line.
Write a short note indicating that you would like to make a "special offering" for Derrick and Ashley Jackson.
Mail the note and the check to Assemblies of God, 1445 Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65802.
All giving is tax-deductible. You will be mailed a receipt for tax purposes each time you give.

SPECIAL GIFT BY ONLINE CREDIT/DEBIT CARD TRANSACTION:

Fill out the online contribution form.
All giving is tax-deductible. You will be mailed a receipt for tax purposes each time you give.

Thanks for giving and don't forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter using the form in the sidebar!