'You really shouldn't be mowing yet,' I told my dad who recently had a minor surgery. Thank the Lord all went well, but two days after the procedure he told me he had just been out cutting the grass. I bristled and protested that he should be resting the left arm like his doctor said. But he assured me  it was ok because he had that arm tucked into his shirt so he would remember not to use it. I have to chuckle at the thought of him up on that mower.  I suppose it's manageable to do things with one arm 'tied behind your back' but it's certainly not ideal.  That story got me thinking about us and our work with Chinese students. Since our transition to full-time just 2 short months ago, we are finally experiencing what it feels like to have 'both arms' at work. We are all-in with our time, energy, resources and creativity and it's already making a difference...

• Airport Pickups: The last week of May we had the opportunity to pick up five newly arriving students from China. Airport pick ups continue to be a critical way to make new connections and expand the growing list of students in our community. We've already been chatting with these new students online and plan to connect through the summer. 
• Soccer Saturdays: I was invited by one of our student friends to play soccer on Saturday mornings with a large group of guys connected to the University of Minnesota. The majority of the 30 or so people I've already met are Chinese students!  This is a huge answer to prayer and an incredible new way to build relationships.
• Summer Nights: In addition to the arriving students, many of our Chinese friends are staying here for the summer. We are creating ways to stay connected through our Summer Nights events in unique outdoor locations around the Twin Cities. Pray with us that  these events solidify our relationships and lead us into an incredible fall. 

Your support is everything to us. Last month we communicated our support raising goal of $1800 in new monthly giving by July 15th. We are excited to report that $800 in new monthly support came in within two weeks of that newsletter!  We continue to be humbled and amazed at God's provision through you!

While that is fantastic news, we still need $1000 in new monthly giving in the next six weeks. Would you consider giving to help us knock out this goal? If monthly support is not an option for you at this time, special gifts are also extremely helpful as they offset ministry expenses that are crucial to our work. Thanks for considering partnership with us to see a spiritual awakening among Chinese students at the U of M!

To invest in NihaoMN, click the button below and Scroll down through the list of "To" accounts and select: Jon & Elissa Kuert - Chi Alpha