Family Update

Both our kiddos started school the week of August 18th! Arthur began first grade with familiar faces—his kindergarten teacher (Mrs. Comer) “looped” and is now teaching first grade with the same class of kids. We are thrilled, because she loves the Lord and our experience with her last year was great. Arthur enjoys school and we’re happy about how well he’s adjusted into a schedule that is pretty full between school, homework and eye therapy exercises.

Our little Kat also began pre-school for the very first time! We’ve seen some maturing over the last month or so, which we have been hoping would happen before we had to send her out into the world. She was very excited about starting. Overall it has been a very positive experience for the whole family. She is actually attending the same Christian pre-school Arthur went to during our STINT year, so it is fun to see some familiar faces and have her in a program we already love.

Please pray for all of us as we adjust to a life stage and schedule that is very new, especially for Katherine and me (Karen). I have been presented with enough tempting “opportunities” to fill literally every child-free minute with Cru work, church-related activities and volunteering at schools. I am excited to step into a role as a Missional Coach (we talked about this months ago in a newsletter but it was called “Transition Coaching” at that point). I’m really excited to come alongside people and help them process “living on God’s mission” wherever they are. Would you please join me in praying for wisdom in using my time and energy? Certain priorities and roles are obvious, so I want to trust that “the rest of it” will become clear over time 🙂

What God’s been teaching us (Karen)

Jeff asked to bring my camera Full Sail so his mom could be the photographer at an important event (see front page). I didn’t want to send it. Nothing personal at all, just what if it got lost? What if it got broken? What if the battery got used up and I needed it before I remembered to charge it? (which reminds me…) It was a special gift for me, why do I need to send MY stuff when Jeff goes out to do ministry and I don’t even get to come? Wah, wah, wah. So I said “please don’t ask me” and my darling husband let it go. A while later, as they were pulling out of the driveway, I felt the Spirit of God impress on my heart, “how about that camera of mine that I let you use?”

Yikes! I belong to God, and so does everything I own. I ran and got the camera. God even graciously gave me a little extra time because Jeff needed to put something in the garage and I caught them at the end of the driveway. I handed that camera to his mom with a big smile and Jeff must have thought I was crazy! I explained it to him later, along with how grateful I was that God had made Himself so clear to me and given me that chance to honor Him as the true Owner of all the stuff I get to use. It’s a good reminder that we are stewards—not owners—of our talents, resources and time.

A FAMILY MINISTRY

My colleague, Brian, and I have continued to make inroads to Full Sail University, a school in Orlando that pours graduates into the film, music and video game industry every month.

Because I signed up for more information on becoming a student there (would love to earn a Masters in Entertainment Writing someday), I was invited to join the school’s internal Facebook group. Right away, I noticed that I could look up other people on that network by interest:

604 interested in
God
949 say they’re “open minded”
346 are “exploring my beliefs”
1,024 interested in Christianity

That last group included Brittany. Both she and her professor father are excited to help us reach lost students at Full Sail and help Christian artists explore how faith and art intersect and how to be a light in the entertainment industry. I can’t wait to try out Art-specific strategies there, like a short film festival, a themes of life/story discussion series and an I Am Second small group testimony-based bible study. Please pray as we invest in the lives of young people who will shape what we watch, play and listen to in generations to come!

REACHING JERSEY FROM FLORIDA

I mentioned a few months ago that I have the great privilege to coach students around the US in living missionally through a “stay-at-home mission trip” called Mission Summer.

We’ve had close to 200 students participating, and it is great to hear them spur each other on and talk about how their lives are changing. One “student” that I’ve had the pleasure to coach is Jim (below). He is a student at NJIT and a professor at Sussex County. During one breakout session, he admitted to never having shared the gospel before and was a little nervous about that week’s challenge.

After some advice that seemed to give him hope, I introduced Jim to Joel (whom I discipled at NJIT) and the two went out to share. Both came back reporting great conversations and increased confidence to tell people in NJ about Jesus. Pray for Jim and others sharing Christ for the 1st time!

A Summer I’ll Never Forget

The following was written by a student, Logan, who experienced only the last 3 weeks of Mission Summer:

I heard my father, minister at a local church, raving about how awesome it was to have representatives from CRU ministries come and speak. I intern at a different church and so I was unable to hear the speakers. After listening to my dad and then doing a little research on my own, I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of this organization. I submitted the online request form and was transferred to Brian and Jeff and that is where I began my Mission Summer journey.

That first night I joined was Roger Hershey’s last night speaking; this idea of having a world Christian perspective. The ways I was challenged and my eyes opened during that session left me speechless. I started bragging about what God did in my life just in that initial first night of joining. God began putting a burden on my heart for international missions that evening. Little did I know He was about to rock my world.

The next Sunday night, I invited some of the high school and middle school students from the church I intern at to join in on the session. We had 10 students come and they thoroughly enjoyed the topic of how to have a mission mindset.

Clearly it struck a heartstring because the next week we had 22 students join in. They took what they heard to heart and began telling others about what God was doing. Little did they know that God was dealing with my heart about pursuing international missions this entire time. God was not only working in the group’s heart but the individuals of the group’s heart.

Now we are in the present. God has continued speaking to me about foreign mission work but for right now God has me in Easley, SC for a reason and I’m not going to waste that time. While I’m here, God has given me a desire to start a bible study in my community that brings together both high school and college students from the locals schools in my area. There are 5 colleges and 5 high schools. God has brought together a team from the students who participated this summer to make this project happen. We’ve decided to use missions as our goal. Showing this community what missions look like and also bringing in sinners to share with them how Jesus Christ can save them!

So far, we’ve had over 70 students from the school I’ll be attending this fall show an interest along with many other students from across our small town radius. I cannot tell you how pumped we are to begin school now knowing what God has in store!

Mission Summer truly promotes a passion for missions and encourages and challenges all the students involved in a positive way. I am so happy to have been a part of this project and don’t know if my walk with God would be as strong as it is right now if it wasn’t for my involvement with Mission Summer!

Family Update

For us, this has been the Summer of Doctors! Karen started a heavy regimen of chiropractor visits to correct multiple spinal issues, including a complete lack of curve in her neck vertebrae. Karen has had terrible trouble with exhaustion, allergies and low immune system ever since college. In the past 2 months, however, we’ve seen incredible progress in her quality of health, which has been a huge blessing to us as a family! It’s also greatly helped us to minister to people around us and to take care of the kids’ medical needs.

Arthur began eye therapy, a true God-story even in the discovery of this alternative to surgery. We discovered that double-vision causes him to subconsciously disable his left eye, resulting in his having only 1% of normal depth perception. It was heartbreaking for us as we put on glasses that simulated the world through his eyes. Still, we’ve already seen improvement to the point where, about 4 weeks in, Arthur wore 3D glasses and shouted “there are things popping out of the screen!” He is starting to use both eyes at once which will mean wonders for his coordination, writing and a slew of other areas! Please pray!

Of course no battery of doctor visits would be complete without a family dental trip. Poor Katherine had 5 cavities! It blew our minds, considering how small she is and how consistent we’ve been with brushing (she even likes to floss… who does that?), but they said it can happen sometimes no matter what you do. Well, God answered prayers and turned 5 cavities into 2 on our follow-up with the pediatric specialist, but she will still need to have oral sedation while they grind away half of 2 teeth and cover them with metal caps :(. Please pray!

As you can see, these appointments fail to dampen the family’s spirit of fun and warmth. The kids bicker in spurts, but most of the time they are a delight to each other and to us!

Thanks for praying!

What God’s Been Teaching Us

Karen and I have been repeating a prayer that Steve Douglass, president of Cru, reports to pray daily, “that God would allow me to touch a life that day – that I could be a tangible conveyer of God’s love to some individual in need.” Now, there are lots of ways for God to use you and I to answer that prayer (by blessing someone financially, or with some skill that God has given us), and He has shown up in different ways almost every day. But knowing my heart for counseling and Karen’s for loving strangers, I’m sure you can guess what happened the very first day…

Karen was headed out of a hardware store when she had to go back in for something (that was God right there by the way). When she was going through checkout, she noticed that the cashier, Daniel, was visibly upset. A few minutes of Holy Spirit conversation later and Daniel had opened up about his struggles with depression, with his
past, with his relationships, and with God.

Some of Karen’s own history really matched his situation (fulfilling what Steve Douglass’ wife, Judy, often says, that “God doesn’t waste anything”). Daniel and I have gotten deeply into the things of God now. He and Mary, his pregnant wife, have quickly become good friends. They’ve been over our house, to church with us and even to a men’s breakfast (well, not Mary to that one :)! Please pray for them!

STAY-AT-HOME MISSION TRIP

This summer, God is using Jeff to make a big difference in the lives of students all across the US! He is coaching “missional living” groups in NJ, PA, TX, CA and AZ as they participate in an online mission trip called Mission Summer.

During one session, they taught students how to tell stories about how God changed their lives. One student, Samantha, shared this:

I was abused for 16 years, I cut myself to release the pain. I was bullied through middle and high school. I always struggled with people walking out of my life, being

Going to a Cru winter conference is when it hit me, I did not have to be perfect. I realized that trust was the biggest issue and I just had to trust the Lord and let Him lead. I have hope back in my life and I am thankful to everyone that supports me. The Lord changed my life and He can change yours too, you just have to be willing to let Him. morevaluable, etc.

Winning Matters – The Testimony of a World Cup Star

In Brazil, the world is fixed for a few weeks on these dedicated athletes. For the past several years, though, Athletes in Action (our sports ministry) has been preparing for this moment, recruiting staff members and players as well as raising up churches looking to mobilize an effort that would expand the ministry in that country long after the World Cup is over.

We estimate that over 300 million people will see the video that they produced, The Prize, that has soccer greats talking about their faith in Christ. Athletes from Brazil, Cameroon, Germany, Zambia and the US share their testimonies about how God sustains them through the pressures demanded of them, empowers them to do anything, and remains the foundation of their lives. If you know a sports fan, connecting them to this video might connect them to Jesus Himself!

One testimony given is from Ricardo “Kaká” Izecson. After being called the best player in the world at age 18, an injury almost took him out forever. He says, “I learned to live each day, always waiting, knowing that God has the daily bread and having faith that things can change at any moment… Faith is knowing God is in control, even when things aren’t going as we want.”

They also prepared a sports-based Bible study that you can download free here. Pray for Kaká and the thousands of students we will share the gospel with through their sports team this year!

Family Update

We have both been praying that God would use our move to Orlando to allow us to minister to family and friends as a place of rest and rejuvenation when they visit. That was really put to the test this month, which has been a marathon of visitors. It started with Karen’s mom, Grammy, who stayed for 2.5 weeks! We had missed her so much since we last saw her in early October, and we were all blessed by how well such a long visit went, looking forward to seeing each other again (much sooner this time we hope).

Next, our good friends CG and Liz from PA came for a quick visit. We had fun and they grilled us with really good questions about parenting in preparation for their new baby! We’re pretty sure we didn’t steer them irreparably wrong 🙂

Finally, we had an extended visit with beloved friends, Sean and Maria, who served with us in the NJ college ministry. They are in the midst of some major life decisions, and we were so glad to be able to minister to them and pray with them as they navigated their many possible futures.

Arthur and Katherine have such big hearts to pray for and minister to people around them, after they’ve finished bouncing off the walls trying to impress the new people that is :). We have loved having so many people here to love.

Karen has begun to see a chiropractor, who almost immediately helped relieve lingering symptoms from the concussion sustained in April. We are excited to see energy and overall physical health increasing. Our kids are also thrilled to see God answering their prayers for Mommy to get better. We love their hearts and instinct to pray. A few weeks ago, Arthur prayed for me to “grow and keep growing into a warrior of God.” He prayed that I would “have good days, not mind the bad da

ys, and forget the bad days in the past.” Praise God for these wonderful little people that we get to share life with!