Friday, December 25, 2009

Wishing you...

a very merry Christmas to all of our friends and family! We love you and are so blessed by you.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

staff training

On Monday we are heading up North to Joy Bible Camp for a week of staff training with the Ontario Campus for Christ staff members.
This is usually a great time to catch up with staff from other campuses as well as receive more valuable training. There is also usually a day to spend as a bit of a retreat recooperating from the busy semester.
We pray this is a week of good fellowship and refreshment for all of us as we head into a busy Christmas season.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Mid-November update!

So much has happened during these past couple months!

Summit has come and gone and so many students came out and were challenged in their faith! One student even came to know Christ personally during the course of the weekend!

Jamie led a student named Jake to Christ and continues to meet with him for follow up and continued growth!

Jamie was involved with the football team (Go Gryphons!) and has since made some good contacts from the team including the team captain!

Noah turned 2 years old and is discovering new words and abilities every single day!

Jude is almost 4 months and just learned how to roll over - both the boys are keeping Vanessa quite busy!

We are in the midst of preparing for the Christmas season and Winter Conference!

Stay tuned for more news from us in your mailboxes!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

He's Here!

Jude Calvin Strickland was born on July 31st at 1:44pm weighing 9lbs12oz and measuring 22.5 inches.

He is a pretty relaxed, easy going baby and we are slowly adjusting to being a family of four.
Noah loves being a big brother and is very sweet and helpful.
Here is us with Noah at 21 months of age and Jude at 11 days of age:


Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and warm wishes. We love and appreciate your support.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Waterloo Update

We're back in Guelph and are settling into our new place as we await the arrival of our second little boy (due in a few weeks!).
We've got a new prayer letter with an update on our time in Waterloo!
Enjoy!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

LooP '09

Staff Orientation for Waterloo Project (LooP '09) begins this Thursday and we are excited to be taking part in this very different national project.

Waterloo Project is a project that focuses mainly on equipping the Campus Ministry through the gifts and talents of staff and students to provide resources for all campus staff and students to use - whether that be putting together an outreach package that contains everything a campus would need to put on a large outreach on their campus (banner designs, posters, talk outlines, bible studies, website details, etc.) or it could be reworking Bible studies or creating Bible studies that are meant for men in our ministry.

As this will be a project that is closer to home (we are only 30 minutes from Waterloo) there will continue to be costs for us (we will be moving to the dorms in Waterloo for the duration of the project) and we will need some special one-time gifts.

If you would like to partner with us in this way to provide for some of these needs, you can do so at: https://powertochange.com/corporate/canada/giving/support-staff/ online or call 1-800-563-1106 to give via credit card. If you'd like to mail a cheque you can do so at:

Jamie & Vanessa Strickland
6-8 Brant Ave.
Guelph, ON N1E 1E7

We'll be sending all our supporters a letter in the next week detailing our costs and what our exact needs are.

Thank you for your partnership! We love you and treasure your faithfulness to us through prayers and finances.

The Gospel Coalition

The Gospel Coalition was a great experience for our family!

Jamie enjoyed the conference with some other men on staff while Vanessa and Noah stayed with some friends in Chicago about 30 minutes away from the conference.

"It was great to get to hear from so many of my favourite preachers and authors.
During a message from John Piper, I was encouraged to overcome fear and passivity by remembering that God called me to proclaim the gospel from before the foundation of the world and He that called me will also provide what I need to do so."
- Jamie

"I didn't know what to expect from the week away from Jamie with 2 other Moms (one also pregnant and due at the end of July) and 2 other little kids but it turned out to be such a refreshing week full of laughter, conversation and a lot of much needed time with other women. Noah was such a champ in the car and absolutely adored playing and interacting with the other kids. What a blessing!"
- Vanessa

Friday, March 27, 2009

Please continue to pray for us as we finish off this semester, prepare for Waterloo Project and get ready for baby number 2 this summer!





Stories from the Grads of '09 (Matt's story)



Jamie’s been working with Matt for a few years now and has seen him grow from a first year to this year’s key student leader of Campus for Christ. Matt had this to say when asked about his involvement with Campus for Christ:

Over my past four years of involvement with C4C I have been convicted, challenged and equipped to actively be part of fulfilling the Great Commission for the rest of my life; the stakes have been set for me. I have also been built into by the staff and peers that I have met through C4C, gaining a solid biblical foundation for my life. Going to Scotland on project stretched me to share boldly with others. My leadership abilities have also grown through leading discipleship groups, prayer and being on the Servant team the past two years.

My fiancée Nicky and I plan on joining staff with C4C and I see this as a great opportunity to be part of fulfilling the Great Commission and the strategic nature of reaching the university. My heart for the church has continued to grow throughout my university career and I desire to see the Canadian church be intentional about reaching our country and world. God has also been growing my heart for families and particularly the marriage relationship more recently.

I would like to thank you for being a part of Jamie and Vanessa's support team. Without dedicated staff members like them, it would be much more difficult for the students here at the U of G to do ministry on our campus.”

Please be in prayer for Matt & Nicky as they finish the school year and prepare for their wedding and the rest of their lives together in ministry.

Stories from the Grads of '09 (Emily's story)



When Vanessa first started working with Campus for Christ at Guelph she met Emily, a first year student with spunk and immediately took to her. Vanessa was able to personally disciple Emily for 2 years before moving off campus to take on the role of full-time wife and mother. Three and a half years later, Emily is graduating. When asked about her involvement with Campus for Christ she was full of stories of how God has used C4C in her life. Here is just a bit of what she had to say:

“When I came to university I had no idea the journey God wanted to take me on during the 4 years to follow.

The most life-changing lesson I learned through Campus for Christ was that the Christian life wasn’t meant to be lived on my own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit working through me.

Without Campus for Christ and the staff and students who poured their lives into me during my past four years at university I would still be the way I was before- trying to live the Christian life on my own and experiencing frustration and failure instead of the peace and joy God intends for us.”

Emily has gone on several missions trips with C4C and is pursuing full-time ministry after she graduates this coming April. Pray for Emily as she transitions into post-education life and ministry.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

What's Up With The Strickland's?

With a busy Christmas season come and gone and spring just around the corner (hey, we can dream, can’t we?) we are already thinking and planning for what’s to come during May and June. That is, summer projects with Campus for Christ! This year we will be keeping things a little more local and joining the Waterloo Project (or LooP ‘09) and “moving” to Waterloo for May & June. We are excited about this project so stay tuned for more details!



In other news, we are excited to announce that another Baby Strickland is on the way! We are thrilled for another addition to our little family and anticipate his/her arrival at the end of July. Please pray for us as we begin to prepare for this baby and for health for Vanessa and baby.

Soul Cravings

You were made to GROW, to dream, to achieve. Your soul is letting you know you come from God and your life is intended to be God-sized and God-inspired.
- Erwin McManus, Soul Cravings

On January 27th Campus for Christ hosted author Erwin McManus to talk to hundreds of students about Soul Cravings—or the idea that our souls crave three basic things that can only really be found in God: intimacy, destiny and meaning. From the turnout of so many students (and people from the community) it seemed as if his words were hitting home for many people.
A student in our ministry, Nick shares what happened when he followed up with a typical Guelph student:

"After being raised going to church, he drifted as he got older and developed his life without a focus on God. However, he claims he is comfortable with his current position.
His question essentially is why would someone content with their life need to accept Jesus? What do you tell the people who claim to be happy and successful but don’t know Jesus?"

Please pray for the many students who don’t know Jesus. Pray that they would realize there is a God who loves and wants to know them. Pray that we would connect with students who are searching for more in life; those who want to know Jesus.

The Encounter

Winter Conference 2009: The Encounter

500 students from across Eastern Canada came to encounter the true and living Jesus Christ, the only hope for our world and the sole means of our salvation. For one week of training students were built up in evangelism and discipleship, pumped to reach to their campuses for Christ in the New Year!

During one main session, students were challenged to be willing to say “Lord, here I am, send me.” 2/3 of the students stood to acknowledge that they would lay down their lives and go the ends of the earth to see the Great Commission fulfilled! Praise God for students encountering Jesus, heightening their compassion for people, and never being the same.



Students starting up an impromptu worship session downstairs outside our main meeting room.



A group of students (led my U of G's Sam Foster) on the TTC subway for the Day of Outreach.

Monday, January 12, 2009

The Encounter


Well, Winter Conference (The Encounter) has come and gone and it's already mid-January.
Stay tuned for details of how lives were changed at this amazing conference downtown Toronto.

*Picture was taken from our hotel room window.