What I can't say in the classroom...

    What is so remarkable about a woman who speaks publicly of how the Lord sustained her during her husband’s slow death from lung cancer? Or another woman who says she has felt God’s comfort since her six-year-old daughter died in a tragic accident?  Or the man who shares how his distorted view of God adversely impact him and how that has now changed?

     While these stories are encouraging, and perhaps even inspiring, what makes them stand out is they were spoken on a secular university campus by Christian professors.

    Several of the students who attended What I Can’t Say in the Classroom at Stephen F. Austin University were clearly affected by what they heard. One student said, “I had no idea what I was walking into tonight, but God definitely did! Thank you guys for opening your hearts to a bunch of ‘20-somethings’!” The students were thrilled to hear of the professors’ enthusiasm to pray together for the campus and to see their desire to be an influence for Christ.

     During a question-and-answer time a student asked why the professors would speak at What I Can’t Say. Each responded by saying they sensed God is prompting them to view their work on campus as a ministry to their colleagues as well as to the students. Since then the faculty have been studying together to learn how they can give influence on the campus for Christ, and they have developed their personal testimonies for this purpose.

    What I Can’t Say went beyond reaching only students that night in October. The professors advertised the event with posters on their office doors, and one math professor, who didn’t indicate whether or not he was a Christian himself, said he came to hear his colleague tell her story. He was one of the ten to twelve additional faculty members who showed up.

    This is exactly why we like being on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ--helping people reach the world around them is exciting.  Thank you for being a part of the impact our staff are having on campuses and around the world.



With love and thanks,

Engagement Pictures

So, after Perry called and asked to meet with Dayna and I, we realized that there was no one to watch Macy, so Perry had to meet with me alone.  We met at a Chick Fil A and he did ask me for her hand in marriage.  He did a great job.  Dayna told me to tell him to "be kind and loving, we'll help you however we can, and we'll try to stay out of your business!"  I told him that Luke and I would welcome another man into the family!  A week later and he was taking action!

 Perry had a plan, and asked Aubrey to take pictures of the big moment.  Here are some of them...

Waiting for the moment...

Perry had four possible locations for the proposal, so he provided a map of each of the locations for Aubrey.  He labeled Aubrey's phone number "Albert", his roommate's name, so when Aubrey called him to find out where they were, he pretended it was Albert.

"I'd like to ask you a question..."

Aubrey had to be careful to sneak up in a way that Cara could not see her, and so that Perry could see that she was ready.  It is amazing he could concentrate on any kind of conversation knowing he was waiting for everything to be set.

He had the ring, and got on one knee!

Perry chose to propose at the part of campus near the engineering buildings where both of them had taken so many classes.  He chose this location with the funny concrete chairs because they had joked about them and Aubrey knew where they were.

Of course she said yes!

Perry and Cara met at the end of their freshman year and have dated for over 3 years.  They will marry this summer, and both have one year left to finish their masters degrees.

Very sparkly!

On their way back to our house, they stopped by to see Dayna's Dad, James Matthews at his assisted living place and tell him the good news.  He was real happy about it.  I wish he had talked them into a living room wedding like he had with his wife Mildred!

My Mom was staying with us at the time and could not stop smiling with the great news.  She was so glad to be a part of the excitement.


We called my Dad and Cara told him the news and he said "you could have knocked me over with a feather!"  He got in his car and drove the 1 hour and 15 minutes to join us for a celebration dinner at Buca di Beppo's a place our family has gone to celebrate graduations and other fun things.

January Surprise!

Friends,
It has been a while since I've posted anything on our blog, and now it is time for a flurry of postings because a lot is happening around here.

    I’m encouraged that right now in Budapest Campus Crusade for Christ leaders from many Eastern European countries are finishing training in crisis management.  I received notices that Radu Voicu, Alban Pasho, and Igor Tcacenco  and 20 others are now using our online resources and are prepared to plan for and respond to crises.

    I’m encouraged that this year thousands of students attended conferences over Christmas break to learn how to impact their campuses for Christ.  In Atlanta our Southeast Conference joined with the Passion Conference where over 43,000 students gave over $2 million to help end human trafficking.

However...

    ...the excitement that is coming to my mind most often this month is that our daughter Cara is engaged!  Her long term boyfriend, Perry Johnson, asked her to marry him earlier this month, and they plan to marry this summer.  We are all happy for them!

Perry dropped to one knee and popped the question!

    Thank you for being a part of our lives and Cara’s life all these years.  We are very grateful for your friendship and partnership.

Behind the Scenes:

     Perry bravely asked to meet with us the week before he proposed to ask us for her hand in marriage.  When I whispered to Dayna that he had called, Aubrey happened to overhear it, and excitedly said, “I heard everything you said!”

    After warning Aubrey to keep quiet, he took advantage of her knowledge and asked her to secretly take pictures of the proposal!  Aubrey hid behind walls and bushes on the UCF Campus and recorded the whole thing!

 See more engagement pictures here!