Updates from Wichita!

Hello Family!

Things are well down here with both of us keeping very busy! 2014 has been labeled our year of reduction and as such we've been doing our best to tackle both our financial debts and the extra weight. So far we have been able to stick to our goals to get on track to becoming healthier in both senses of the word.  

Ashley has coordinated and managed several events this past semester, including Friends Day at the Exploration Museum, several basketball games, and a special presentation/documentary on eating disorders. On top of all that she is very active in the University's strategic planning initiatives, through the Foundation's of Excellence program. She has received many high remarks of admiration for her work as both committee member and committee chair for issues of diversity and student first year experience. Also, she has done tremendous work with the International Affairs office, submitting new budget proposals, program restructuring and engagement strategies. She's kicking butt and taking names! 

Positive points aside, there is a dark cloud that looms over the college. The work environment at Friends has been a bit tense lately as the school is facing many difficult financial decisions due to persistent enrollment declines the past decade and a half. That being said, staff and faculty moral is low and uncertainty towards the future is very prevalent. While we are confident Ashley's role within the International Affairs program is safe, we have begun planning contingency plans for any worst case scenarios, i.e. looking at new positions at other institutions. While it is far too early to tell which way this situation will go, we think it is always a good idea to have some back up plans. Prayers are more than welcome during this potential transitional phase. Ashley has spent the past few days in Council Grove to see family, relax and recharge. 

For me, work continues to keep me active and engaged. My new grant initiative, the University Tobacco-Free Campuses, is about to publicly launch so I have been busy meeting with our communications team to establish marketing roll out strategies, as well as setting times to meet with the editorial boards of the many University newspapers. If you will all recall that I attended a training last fall in North Carolina that dealt with tobacco marketing at the point of sale in convenience stores. That training was put to the test a few weeks ago when the Foundation partnered with the local tobacco prevention coalition to conduct store audits around the city of neighborhood. From the data collected we hope to present the tobacco industries' marketing strategies and deliberate targeting of poor and minority communities with our city. The presentation will be to a variety of stakeholders at a summit in May at the Leadership Center. Finally, I just returned from a conference down in Orlando, Florida late last evening (my apologies for any missed phone or text messages). The conference, which started on Tuesday (3/4) centered on community health improvement and strategies to improve population health. It was a great experience that  I learned a lot from and I look forward to incorporating some new ideas into my future work! 

Going forward, we would both greatly appreciate your prayers for patience and helping us check our own will to make sure we are putting God's first. We have made it our goal to remind ourselves daily of our blessings and to be good stewards of those blessings. I hope everyone is doing well and we love you all tons! 

Love,

Ashley & Jonathan