Christmas/Conference

Faithful team,

We spent the last two weeks celebrating the Christmas season with the Olson’s, the Plumlee’s, and other friends and family, not to mention throwing an engagement party for two of our close friends! It was a very different and yet very enjoyable Christmas season for both of us. As I type this we are sitting in a bus on the way to Milwaukee, WI for our new year’s conference. The conference is about four days long and designed to meet students where they are spiritually. There are several main rally talks with other break out seminars throughout the conference. If interested you can watch streaming online videos from the talks at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/milwaukee-new-years-conference. You can also see the conference online schedule at: http://www.milwaukee2010.com/category/conference-schedule/.

We are very excited to see what God could do through this conference! I was reminded this morning while reading a book called Desiring God by John Piper, that prayer is the thrust of our joy because it brings us into communion with the one, true God. With that said, we would be honored for you to join us in pursuing joy by asking God some specific things for this years Milwaukee New Year’s Conference.

• That God would save Anthony (one of Kyle’s men)
• That God would empower Trace, Riley, Lemuel, Mackenzie, and Lindsey to make a lordship decision to invest their summer into their relationship with Jesus at the Orlando Project (This is our summer program in Orlando, FL to help students build a foundation for walking with God for a lifetime)
• That God would give Trace, Riley, Mackenzie, and Lindsey a desire to go back to campus and share the gospel with fellow students.

Grateful for your friendship and partnership,

Kyle and Jenn

Thanksgiving Recap

Faithful team,

We trust you received our update letter we sent out recently, the Plumlee Post (If not, please let us know so we can send you one.) As mentioned in our letter, we have seen big ways in which God is making us more like Christ. Marriage and ministry has certainly contributed to this. We are grateful, as Hebrews 12:11 says, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” While painful at times, we welcome God’s discipline because it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Our Thanksgiving was exactly that, a time of being thankful. We had both of our families under the same roof for our Thanksgiving meal. It was such a joy for us! Here in Terre Haute we have one more week on campus until we take a break for the holiday season. We are gearing up for our New Year’s Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This is a five day conference designed to meet students where they are spiritually, help them take steps towards salvation, further mature in Christ-like character, and/or develop a vision for their life. The conference welcomes several colleges and it is estimated that there will be over 500 students in attendance.

At this point there are 92 students from Indiana State University who have signed up for MNYC (Milwaukee New Year’s Conference)! These students include both believers and non-believers. If you remember from our fall retreat there were 24 professions of faith! Most of these students are walking with God, but we are still praying that the seed of the gospel has fallen on good soil and will continue to fall on good soil with the students of ISU (Mark 4:8)! Please continue to pray that these students would be nourished and MNYC would aid in this (1 Peter 2:2).

This Wednesday Kyle is speaking at 858. We ask for your prayers as he will attempt to answer the question “How do you know you are saved?” The topic in itself has potential to anger students and burn bridges with relationships. Please pray that Kyle could present truth in a loving and compassionate fashion. Also please pray that students would be able to examine themselves to see whether they are in the faith and if not, cry out that God might save them. Psalm 28:9 says, “Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.”

We also ask for your prayers with one of our close family friends, Mark Middleton. Recently he was diagnosed with level 4 pancreatic cancer and has not been given much time to live. We are begging God to heal him all for his glory! If you wish, you can get updates on Mark and his family at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/markmiddleton.

Incredibly grateful for your prayers and support,

The Plumlees

Captivated Retreat Update!

Faithful Team,

Over the last few weeks our staff and students are in awe of what the Lord Jesus has done at Indiana State University. Over Halloween weekend we had our first retreat, called Captivated. It was in downtown Indianapolis and we had a speaker named Kempton Turner, from Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. We have been laboring on the campus and trusting God to save 25 students from ISU at Captivated as the gospel was boldly proclaimed. Unlike anything we have ever seen, 24 students have professed faith in Jesus from the weekend! With 36 students making professions on the year, we are completely dependent upon God to sustain these students and desperate for people to pray on their behalf!

In light of this, God has been doing a work in our own hearts regarding how to measure the success of our own personal ministries. God has been teaching us that success is not based on our fruitfulness, but our faithfulness. God cares most about our faithfulness to him (1 Corinthians 4:2 "It has been required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.") This has been humbling and so refreshing for us to be reminded of! He is the one that leads us into good works and changes students' hearts, not us. All we are called to do is be faithful! And God has definitely revealed his faithfulness to Indiana State this semester.

We will be sending out our quarterly newsletter this week that will contain stories and pictures of a few of the students that have come to know the Lord this semester so far!

Prayer Requests

• Please pray that the seed of the gospel would fall on the good soil of students’ hearts (Mark 4:8)!

• Please pray that these newborn spiritual infants would drink from the Word of God and be nourished (1 Peter 2:2) as they taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8).

• Please pray that these students would mature in Christ (Col 1:28) as they become lovers of Jesus (Mark 12:30) and laborers in His harvest (Matthew 9:38)!

• Please pray that we would be more concerned about our faithfulness than our fruitfulness (1 Corinthians 4:2).

We love you and think of you often. We have been praying for you and hope to see some of you at Bethel Church over Thanksgiving break!

Grateful,

Kyle and Jenn

September-October

Beloved team,

It is hard to believe Jenn and I just celebrated our two month anniversary on Friday! This past weekend was fall break for Indiana State University, so we went to visit my family out in Arizona. We went out to see my mom, who was finishing up cancer treatments. We were joined by my dad, sister, and family friend. It was a much needed break for the two of us.

We have lived a fast-paced lifestyle since the moment we returned from our honeymoon. College ministry requires a lot of time on the campus in order to be effective. It is exciting, but often times draining. Jenn and I have tried to be intentional with our time away from campus. Thursday evening is our date night and Saturday is our day of rest. God is on the move at Indiana State and it is so exciting to be a part of it! Here are some things we have seen God do thus far:

• There are two girls, straight from the party scene, in which Jenn has been doing a Bible study with. They are both coming to our Fall Retreat and are very close to coming to know the Lord! Their names are Mackenzie and Lindsey.
• Two men in which I have been sharing with have made professions of Christ! There names are Trace and Riley. Trace professed Christ a couple of weeks ago and Riley professed Christ last Wednesday night. I will now begin to establish them in the basics of Christianity.
• Jenn is starting a Bible study with the Chi-O sorority this week! One girl in Chi-O is very close to coming to know the Lord and many other girls are interested in spiritual things. This Bible study is a big answer to prayer! Along with that, ASA, the most influential sorority on campus, has replied back to Jenn’s request to do a Bible study with them. It seemed just as Jenn was losing hope in reaching ASA, their president contacted her after a month of waiting and gave Jenn permission to do a Bible study in their chapter! This is just one of the many examples of how God has been teaching us to trust in his timing and not ours.
• The fall retreat is coming up on the weekend of October 29th-31st. We are calling the retreat CAPTIVATED and centering the retreat around the question, “What truly captivates you?” Several men and women have committed to going to the retreat, which could be huge for salvation!

It is exciting to be a part of this but we realize that we are clay in the Potter’s hands. He uses us how he pleases and we are grateful for this opportunity. We are grateful for you as we head to campus each day and are reminded of how God is providing for us daily through you. We hope you are encouraged by hearing how God is using you to make him famous at Indiana State! We are praying for you that you will find joy in delighting in the Lord!

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forever more.

Psalm 16:11

His Power is made perfect in weakness - 9.15.10

Dear Supporters,

Jenn and I have now been on campus for a little over three weeks. We cannot say enough about God’s wonderful grace upon our marriage and upon our labors at Indiana State. The sweetest view of his grace has been in the way he is gently revealing sin to us and drawing us back into fellowship with him. I have personally experienced much trial. God is stripping me of all the things I once placed my trust in. In years past when I needed to be reminded of personal worth, I would often look towards my basketball skills, my reputation, or familiar places and friendships. Here I do not have any of that. God is showing me that my identity is only found in him. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” It has been a sweet truth to cling to as I walk through the dorms and endure awkward interactions, disinterest in the gospel, and hatred towards Christians. Yet, how amazing it is to know that my reputation and identity is found only in Christ Jesus! My prayer is that God would continue to empty me of myself and fill me with more of him. John 3:30 says, “He must become greater; I must become less.”

We have seen God provide some great opportunities with Jenn. She has been targeting a couple floors in a dorm called Blumberg, as well as two sororities called ASA and ChiO. On Saturday she was able to spend the entire day at ASA where she met all the girls, got a bunch of their numbers, and won much favor. Many lunch opportunities have presented themselves since. Saturday for Jenn could possibly set up the entire year of ministry for her. Praise God! She has also spent time in Blumberg. I’m not sure how she does it, but God has gifted Jenn with the ability to become “best friends” with girls very quickly. I think she already has a couple handfuls of “best friends” in Blumberg who are constantly asking to spend time with her. Praise God! As far as ministry goes with me, it has been a testing time. It is much more difficult to go deep with guys quickly than it is with girls. My time in the dorms has been mainly directed towards developing as many relationships with guys as possible. I have met between 150-200 students in my target area and I’m trying to develop trust with them. Many of them have heard my testimony, the gospel, or both! Pray that the gospel falls on good soil!

The gospel is going forth here at Indiana State. At our first weekly meeting called 858 we had 320 people there. To give you an idea of this number it is over a hundred more students than what we were trusting God for! The gospel was presented and we know of three students who have made professions of Christ! Jenn and I are grateful for you and your partnership. We thank God for you because we could not be ministering to college students without your help.

We would love for you to join us in prayer in the following areas:

1. Pray for Jenn’s connection with the ChiO and ASA presidents, in that they would allow her to start a bible study within their sororities.
2. Pray that God would bring Shelby and Mackenzie, two girls Jenn has been sharing with, to Christ.
3. Pray for the salvation of Trace, a guy I have been sharing with.
4. Pray that God would give me an opportunity to share the gospel with Eric, Brian, Rod, and Anthony, four black students, whom God has given me a lot of favor with.

With gratitude,

Kyle and Jenn

Marriage/Honeymoon/First Week on Campus!

Team,

We are so excited to finally update you from Terre Haute! So much has happened in the past few weeks. As you know, we got married on August 15th, two weeks ago today! Our prayer was that the wedding would be a “portrait” of the Gospel displayed in Revelation 21:1-6:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

We prayed that God would use it to plant a seed in the hearts of those that don’t know him. Our wedding day was such an incredible blessing to be in the presence of so many friends and family that sacrificed time to come and celebrate with us! On August 16, we flew out to Playa Mujeres, Mexico for our honeymoon. It was such a great week to get away, relax, and prepare our hearts for ministry together.

We returned from Mexico on Sunday evening and arrived to Terre Haute late that night. Since then we have been on campus everyday, getting to know students who are already in the Campus Outreach body, and getting to meet many of the students in the dorms we are spending time in. Kyle will be in a dorm on campus that has five floors with incoming male freshmen, which equals a little over 200 guys. Jenn will be focused on two floors of incoming freshmen girls, as well as the sororities here at ISU. We have loved our time here so far and God has, by His grace, given us favor with many of the students we have met!

We have been learning a lot, even within the first five days of being on campus. It has been both humbling and exciting to realize that God doesn’t need us here at ISU, but is allowing us by his grace to be a part of this huge movement. Each year the staff comes up with a theme to unify the students and excite them to walk with God and labor on campus. Our theme this year will be “FAMOUS.” Our vision is to make God incredibly FAMOUS on ISU’s campus as said in Isaiah 26:8 “Your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.” Could you imagine what that could look like? For the “talk on campus” to be about the love of Jesus? Wow!

Team, we are continuously grateful as we walk on campus each day, reminded that God’s provision through you is what allows us to be here. Thank you. You are making an impact here at Indiana State and even greater, the Kingdom.

Please be praying for the following:

1. That we will be abiding in the Vine (John 15) for both fruit in our marriage and ministry.
2. That we will be soaking our ministry in prayer by talking to Jesus about these students before we talk to them about Jesus.
3. That God will continue to give us favor with students in the dorms and that they will be attracted to the Spirit.
4. After Sorority recruitment is over within the next two weeks, the plan is to have Jenn meet with the president of each sorority and offer to be a resource to their girls for a Bible study that she will be leading. Will you begin to pray for those lunches that Jenn will have favor with the sorority presidents and that they will allow her to lead a Bible study with girls. Also, that God will soften the hearts of the girls in each sorority and by the end of the year that some will come to know Him.

Please update us through e-mail, phone, or sending in your prayer card to let us know how we can be praying for you!

We love you guys and are grateful for your partnership in the Gospel,

Kyle and Jenn

August 10th, 2010

Team,

We are now five days away from getting married! It is hard to believe. We keep asking ourselves where the time has gone, because it seems as though we skipped over the last twenty days! There are times when God’s Spirit consumes me and I am left wondering why God has provided me with such and incredible young woman. With that said, five days could not come soon enough!

As previously mentioned, we spoke at Bethel Church during the Saturday night and Sunday morning services. God was so gracious to us. We believe He provided us with the words to say and the people He wanted us to connect with. After yesterday, we are at 85% of our needed monthly financial support! Yet, not only did He increase our financial support, but He provided an entire church body to pray for us as we labor at Indiana State University! How wonderful it is to have so many people backing us in prayer! We are convinced that God moves through the prayers of His people. As mentioned on Sunday, we would covet your prayers in three areas:

1. We are praying that God would finish out our monthly financial support prior to us being on campus. Currently we are short $600/month. (As a side note, if the Lord leads you to support us financially, could you please somehow communicate that with us. This will help us know exactly where we are financially. Thank you!)
2. We are praying that God would soften the hearts of students we meet the first few weeks of school and give us favor with them. We long for the gospel to penetrate their hearts and bring them to have the most amazing relationship they’ve ever known with Christ Jesus!
3. We are praying that God would show us grace as we enter into a season of transitions (marriage, ministry, moving). Everything will be different for us and we want God to be our unmovable rock!

It is so reassuring for us when we read what Paul wrote to the Philippians. He told them, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).” God has been providing and we know He will continue to provide in the days, weeks, and months ahead! Please let us know how we can pray for you! Our email is kplumlee@coindy.org.

It’s all about Him!

August 5th, 2010

Team,

We wanted to give you a quick update of where we are at and what we are praying for. Support raising has been a refining process, but a rewarding one. God has allowed us to meet and befriend many wonderful people! We have had a few trials along the way, but we have learned that trials are to be expected from the enemy, especially when preparing to win souls for Christ. Currently we are at 79.7% of our needed monthly financial support. We are still trusting God to get us to 100% before we get married on August 15th. God has provided some neat support raising opportunities within the next week or so. As we tell you about them, we would love to invite you to pray over them with us!

1) On Saturday and Sunday, Bethel Church has allowed us to speak in front of the congregation during the three services. We will have about five minutes to explain the vision God has called us to. Bethel Church has also been gracious to allow us to set up a table outside the sanctuary for those families and individuals who are led to support us and to invest into the expansion of God's Kingdom on the college campus. We are very excited about this unique opportunity!

2) A second opportunity has been presented to us next week. We will be sharing our vision with a small group within the church. The leaders of the small group were kind enough to open their home and have their small group pray over us and pray through the possibility of supporting us! Please pray that God would raise up our needed financial support through these opportunities He has provided! We would love to be on campus at Indiana State University at the beginning of the fall semester!

We spent all day yesterday moving into our apartment in Terre Haute! It was a fun day, but an exhausting one. These next ten days will be spent finishing up wedding plans and Lord willing finishing up support! It has been a very draining season for us with the many transitions taking place in our life. God is so so good to us! We are in need of refueling everyday. Please pray that God would be our strength and refuge!

"He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations." (Ps. 111:4-6)

Kyle and Jenn

Finished Engagement Pictures and +25% Support!

"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" -Romans 8:32

It is humbling to think how gracious and kind the Lord is to us. People who were once dead and their sin (Ephesians 2:1) have now been made alive in Christ Jesus. Our merciful Lord gave up his most prized possession, namely his Son, so that He may have a relationship with us. Wow! Yet, he doesn't stop there, but gives us "all things!"

Jenn and I have certainly seen and experienced the Lord's gifts during this season of our life. God has provided us with himself, given us to each other, helped us in the process of planning a wedding, and raised up over 25% of our financial support! God is good! If you would like to see our finished engagement photos, please visit the following two links:

(Ada Photography) http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=2067048&id=69603220&ref=mf

(Center Point Photography) http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=2067462&id=69603220&ref=mf

More Engagement Photos (Preview)

We are so fortunate to have so many great engagement photos. Here are some more pictures (preview) from another photographer. Follow the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cookeville-TN/Center-Point-Photography/146162431543#!/album.php?aid=183045&id=146162431543&ref=mf

Thank you again for taking interest in our lives!

Kyle and Jenn

Engagement Photos (Preview)

Here is a preview of some of our engagement photos! The title of the album is Head Over Heels: Kyle + Jenn. To see more photos follow this link:

http://adaphoto.com/blog/2010/june/head-over-heels-kyle--jen

Just a side note, I cannot believe I get to marry this incredibly Godly and gorgeous young woman! The Lord is far too good to me!

Kyle and Jenn

God's Faithfulness - 15% Support

Friends,

We are thankful for your willingness to pray during this season of wedding planning and raising support! God has raised up 15% (committed) of our support goal! We know that God has made this possible through the prayers and support of friends like you! Please continue to pray and know that we are grateful for you!

Grateful,
Kyle and Jenn

New Believer Cardboard Testimonies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXm5bkO2YHQ

This is a short video of the students at IUPUI who have come to Christ over the last year through Campus Outreach. Jenn has been able to build relationships with several of these students. How neat it is that God has allowed us to witness his work through students like these! We are so excited to go on staff with Campus Outreach and partake in this vision of reaching the nations for Christ through the college campus!