The past month since students returned from Christmas break has been hectic. For some reason, Winter Quarter is always the busiest of the three for InterVarsity. But it is good to take some time to reflect on the Urbana Missions Convention, which was so powerful it is still fresh in my mind.

I attended Urbana as a sophomore, still young in my college career and with my ears wide open to what God could call me to. My experience with missions up to that point had been a yearly trip to Tijuana, Mexico with my high school youth group to build homes for the poor. Each year, without fail, I came back changed-- more passionate about my heart for the poor and more committed to the God who loved them, too.

Shortly after Urbana that year I decided that I wanted to go to Latin America again, and I organized a two-week trip for ten students and me in Guatemala that following summer. I also was introduced to International Justice Mission at the convention, and was excited to learn of lawyers using their degrees to work for justice in the name of Jesus. I had longed to go to law school, but I did not have much of a long term vision of how a lawyer could play a part in God's kingdom. Now I had a new goal for how God could use me if I pursued my dream of a law degree.

This Urbana, I came in having already sent in two applications for law schools. I was excited to head off to school again after the end of this internship, but was still open to hearing from God about whether I should spend time on the mission field first. By the time I returned home from the conference I realized that I did long to learn another language and learn more about the poor before I ministered to them (hopefully cross-culturally) as a lawyer. My heart was stirred at Urbana, once again, for how much Jesus loves "the least of these" and how his Gospel is for all nations. I felt drawn toward partnering with him in that mission, at least for a while before going back to school.

As for more of the specifics of what went on at Urbana, it was basically a spiritual feast for thousands and thousands of diverse believers. Each morning and evening there were gatherings for worship and prayer and inspired teaching. In the afternoons there were seminars on everything from intercessory prayer to sharing Jesus with Muslims to how to use drama in ministry. There were also three huge rooms filled with missionary organization and seminary exhibits.

My job on staff was to be a "door guard", or security, for one of the exhibit halls. We had to be on guard, especially because of September 11th, for suspicious people or packages. Urbana was even on the FBI "watch list" as an event that could seem opportunistic for terrorists. We also had to make sure that many of the missionaries were not photographed, especially those who work in Muslim nations. Evangelists from those places could be in danger if the governments discovered what they were doing in their countries.

It was a very exciting time, and thousands of students made commitments to serve God on the mission field on the last morning of the convention. Other highlights from the week were a Native American group that lead us in worship, a Gospel choir and hip-hop group on stage, and an offering that was taken which, when added with the money saved from a voluntary one-meal fast, added up to over $1 million toward missions.

This Urbana, like each one in the past, I'm sure will leave an eternal mark on the believers who attended, and on those whom they will touch.