AXiS and the New Challenge!

More than a month ago I promised I would tell you all about AXiS. I know you are all just so excited to hear about it. Being the rude person that I am, I will make you wait until the last half of this blog to let you know more about it.

First off, I have an announcement. Bankroll please (drums are overrated)...

My position of Associate Director of Admissions was eliminated as of Monday 1/5/09¹. I gotta admit, it was pretty surprising, but at the same time I was not surprised. I want to talk about a few things:

1. The place that I have worked for the last 3 1/2 years - the Focus on the Family Institute has had such an amazing impact on my life. I was a student back in the fall of 2002 where I learned so much about how to be a leader, how to love my family and how to understand more about the foundations of the Christian faith. The relationships I built while a student with my fellow students and the staff members has impacted me to this day.

While on staff for the last 3+ years, I was able to meet and hang out with 11 classes of amazing young Christian leaders from around the world. Some of these students I now call close friends. I believe I was ministered to by these students more than I could have possibly ministered to them. I feel so priviledged to have been able to "recruit" many of these students to such an amazing program for the last three years. Wow!

Finally, I will never forget the relationships that I have built with my co-workers. We have been through a lot together in the last 3 1/2 years. I really believe that we have been like a family and hope it stays that way, even after I leave. We have supported eachother through sickness, hurt, and even deaths of those that we have loved. Plus we have had a ton of fun together. I am so thankful to have known all the amazing people that have worked at FFI for the time that I have been here.

2. You might think from reading the last paragraph that this news has been easy to take and that I am so excited! Well, that is not completely true. I am pretty scared to expiration (I didn't want to talk about death here, oh wait...). I was not really expecting this at this time and so have been thrown for a little loop. I feel like I am still having a quasi bad dream since I heard the news, but I know that God has been orchestrating stuff. There are a lot of little things that have already happened that show me and Kim that He is going to take care of us. I'm excited to look back and see what God is going to do by the end of 2009. My feeling is that it is good. Finally, being laid off is not the worst thing in the world. God promises to take care of us. I know that many people are going through a lot worse right now and my prayers go out to them².

3. Now you are wondering, "what the junk is Jeremiah going to do next and can I have his job."

Let me me address the latter thought first, my job got eliminated people, that means you can't apply for it. It was a sweet job while it lasted. And don't ask me why Focus elminated that position, cause I have NO idea (please hear me saying that in a really happy tone).

On to the former, Kim and I have a plan. First of all, I did get a severance package, so that's a bonus. That will be enough to pay for about 7 meals for Elijah³. Once Elijah eats those 7 meals and we are all out of money, we will need some form of income. Luckily for us, Kim is a nurse, and when there is a 2 trillion dollar bailout of all the bankrupt hospitals in the country, she will have job security. Booyah! Can you say "stay at home dad?" I can't. I need to do everything in my power to make some money, cause I would hate being Mr. Mom. That is code for, "Kim is amazing and God has gifted her with amazing patience and love for all of mankind (even me), so thank you and I love you Kim! Oh, and Neo and Lijey, it's me, not you."

That leads us to AXiS! I will be working full time for AXiS as an "administrative missionary." What that means is that I won't be necessarily on the front lines ministering to students one on one right now, but I will be equipping and building up the ministry for maximum impact. My title is Executive Director of Administration which means I will be taking over a lot of the administrative type tasks from David Eaton, so that he can focus on traveling and speaking. Some of my main roles will involve scheduling AXiS events, marketing, and fundraising. I love to be behind the scenes, but know that God is making a difference through me. Sounds cliche, but I totally mean that. I'm glad HE moved me away from FFI, because I probably would have never left on my own. I'm excited to see what God is going to do with AXiS this year.

Welp, I've now at least mentioned AXiS at the end of this post, but still have not told you anything about it. Guess that will be the next post. Stay tuned...

Notes

1. Message de-code = I just got laid off. Back^


2. If you think of it, please lift a gal named Angie and her family up in prayer. She was just in a bad accident as has been in a coma for a few days. She is an Focus Institute alumni and we are all praying for a miracle and God's will to be done. Back^


3. Last month Elijah ate a double cheeseburger at McDonalds while mom and Neo shared one double cheeseburger - he is only 11 months old. This is very scary! Back^