Significant moments

July was a month of significant moments for us.  

Cru25

Our staff conference in Milwaukee was really good.  They aren't all this good.

I missed having Dayna with me, but I was so encouraged by the messages shared by our leadership, and by the stories of God working around the world.  Here's one story of a how our Church Movements team is helping churches with evangelism.

Former staff member and current board member Crawford Loritts was a highlight for me.  God used him to speak to me about some areas of my life that I need to address related to holding a 10 year grudge that was still bothering me.  It led to a meaningful prayer experience with a couple of other staff men.

This was the first staff conference for our Cru's new president, David Robbins.  He has continued to call us as staff to maintain our first love, walk in humility, dependent on the Spirit.  I am more hopeful about the future of Cru than I have ever been.

David Robbins, Cru President

Apart from the meetings and time with friends, I enjoyed visiting my aunt in Chicago on the way up, taking morning bike rides to the closest McDonald's for an Egg McMuffin, and walking along their river walk.  I did miss Dayna, who was with Cara in California.

Family

Cara and her family arrived in Orlando on July 23, and after a visit to Perry's family in Lakeland, we got to have a house full with everyone here together.  We played in the blow up pool in the backyard and went to the science center.  

Probably a highlight, because we had to take two cars everywhere, were the car "races" to see which car would get home first.  After multiple races involving 6 different cars, it was determined (by a 7 year old boy's ruling) that the 2007 Lincoln Town Car was the Orlando Champion (he just happened to be in that car).

This was also a time that we could talk about the loss of Lumina Hope, Cara and Perry's 22 week old baby, who died and was delivered on July 8.  It was good to be with them, cry with them, talk together and support each other.  It is a deep loss that will be with us forever.  We were so glad we were all able to be together during this time.

Thank you for your prayers for them, and us.  We heard from so many of
you who understood the kind of pain it is to lose a baby.

We are grateful for your partnership, your generous support, and for your prayers.

Thanks for standing with us as we serve with Cru.

With love,

Milwaukee Again!

In mid-July Cru is headed back to Milwaukee for Cru25. This staff conference is the only time we have almost all of the 6,000 staff (and lots of kids) together.   

Dayna and Barrett at Cru22

We'll focus on our calling, our priorities, how we are doing as a ministry, worship together and connect with each other.  This summer is important because we have a new President, a new Athletes in Action director, a new FamilyLife director, and the Josh McDowell Ministry is becoming SightLine. 

Barrett be headed there solo this summer. Dayna received an exemption to be able to be with Catelin when she has a few procedures during that time, but she can watch virtually.

Can you help us this month?

This is one of the expenses that we need to cover from our staff ministry account, and we need to raise $2,300 to cover my flight, conference fees, hotel and food.  Would you please consider making a special gift before the end of July to help us cover this expense this summer?  

It's easy to make a gift at give.cru.org/0374749, or if you want, mail a check made to Cru to our address on the right.  Thank you for considering this, and praying for us.

An update on Catelin

Thank you for your prayers for our daughter Catelin.  She really is doing well. She's finished all of the chemo and radiation, and is beginning some hormone medication that she'll take for years.  After such a rough year, she seems brighter, happier, and lighter.  For the next 5 months she can recover before reconstruction surgery in December.  We continue to take our nightly walks, which I treasure.

Where'd he go?

After having a pretty visible role with the transformation of our headquarters for 4+ years, this last 10 months I have been working on a few projects with Cru that will be largely invisible to most of Cru staff, but are foundational for us to be able to better support them as they are called to win people to Christ, build them in their faith, and send them to reach others.  (One is Cru's job architecture and the other a learning management system so we can better train our staff).

At times it’s tedious work, but I like working on high leverage things that will make a big difference for the experience of our staff…where they feel they have what they need to serve effectively for a long time. 

And that is what you do for us.  You prayers and support provide what we need to serve with Cru.  We are now in our 39th year!  We are honored and thankful to have you by our side.

With love, 

P.S.  Thanks again for considering a special gift for our summer staff conference.

Three quick stories

Washington, D.C.

It was the day of outreach at Winter Conference and it also happened to be Travis’ birthday. To celebrate, he and friends from Radford University stopped by an ice cream shop before going into the city to engage people in spiritual conversations. Travis noticed that Breanna, who was working at the shop, had no customers. He decided to talk with her.

After sharing a little about their purpose that day, he asked, “Did you grow up with any religious background?” “No,” she said, “but I have been thinking about this exact thing for the past three days! This is crazy!” Travis shared the gospel with her, and right there, over the register, she placed her faith in Christ.

Liberia

On January 6, 2024, Kpana, a student involved with the movement, wrote about her desire to start discipleship groups with 20 people and see two individuals emerge as new leaders.  A year later, when she reread her letter, she exclaimed, "I not only started discipleship groups with 22 people, but I also have two individuals actively sharing their faith and starting their own groups!

Croatia

A summer project team of staff and students told the story of Caterina, a freshman at a university in Croatia, who grew up religious. When she experienced tragedy, she began questioning if God was real. She chose to study philosophy, wanting to figure out, as she said, “the purpose of life.”

When project students asked Caterina,“If it were possible to know God, how much would you want to know him, on a 1 to 10 scale?” she answered, “10.”

“She had so many questions — it really seemed she was understanding the message,” one of the students said. Caterina decided to put her trust in Christ. A student commented, “The joy on her face was indescribable! She expressed excitement to share this message with her sister and her friends."

Last Friday I welcomed and gave a tour to 25 college interns who will be working at our headquarters this summer.  They will be working on video, finance, marketing, and other professional jobs.  I told them that everything they do, and all of the work at our headquarters, is helping stories like these happen around the world.

Now, we have some good news and bad news.

First the Good News  

Catelin finished her four weeks of radiation! She went every morning at 7 and got to ring another bell.  It's another great milestone.  She's now starting some hormone therapy that will go one for years, but now the focus is on preparing for reconstruction surgery in December.

Doesn't her hair look great?  It's growing back pretty quickly!

The Bad News

The bad news is that we unexpectedly lost our dog, Brexit on May 15.  I was out of town, so Dayna got help from Catelin and Aubrey at 4 am and took him to the emergency vet, where he passed away on the x-ray table.  Turns out that he had internal bleeding from a cancer (hemangiosarcoma) and we didn't know it.  It's fast growing and often there are no symptoms until something like this happens.  It's amazing how much a part of our family he became.  He was not quite 9 years old, and we miss him a lot.

Brexit was the only dog we've had as a family, and everyone was excited when we agreed to get him.  He became everyone's dog and loved us all.  Aubrey made this video to show how we determined his name, and to announce his arrival. He went to the Grand Canyon and Colorado with us in 2019, and had some great adventures.  We gave him a good life and he gave us great love back.

Thank you for your love and partnership with us.  Together, you and we are able to help these stories happen.  We all play a part in helping people find Jesus.  We always give thanks for you and so appreciate your friendship.

With love,