It usually takes a long time — typically seven or eight months — to plan, gather, report and produce an article for Cru Storylines. The process starts with planning and ends with the article live on our website and distributed by email.

But some articles take longer than others. Last week, a story I edited was finally published after almost 18 months from when we began to plan it. “Practical Kindness at World Youth Day” (top story on the photo on the right) required more planning than many stories, and then the editing process took extra time, too.

First, we heard that Cru’s Jesus Film Project^® would have a significant presence at 2023’s World Youth Day event. More than a million people went to Lisbon, Portugal, for that event last August. Being at such a large event required making sure our writer and photographer had transportation and lodging amidst the crowds.

Once our team was back in the U.S., we needed to coordinate the story with Cru’s leaders in Europe, who hosted the event, and with the participants from the Jesus Film Project Office who took part. That process was more complex than we anticipated. 

While we worked on that story, our team developed two stories about Cru’s Campus Ministry. The article “Redirection Happening Within a Central Florida Campus” (third story on the image above) developed from an idea Anne Marie suggested to our editorial team. That article tells about a Cru intern, and the challenges he faced. For example, when his team arrived at the room they had reserved for the first meeting of a semester, they found another group meeting there. They moved to the roof of a nearby parking garage and began notifying people of the change. That evening, 260 people joined — more than would have fit in the originally scheduled room.

As you think of us over the next few weeks, would you pray for these things?

• Please pray that our team will finish the last article that Anne Marie edited, about Cru’s Orlando Summer Mission. Her part is done, and others are taking the last several steps to produce it.   
• Please pray for Mark and his team as our whole department sets our plans and goals for the coming year. Since our work coordinates with so many campuses, our plans run from September to August instead of by calendar year.  
• Thank you for praying for Anne Marie’s health. Please pray for complete health for both of us especially during September 12-21 as we take a long-planned trip.

Thank you for your prayers, friendship and generosity.

Sincerely in Christ, — Mark, for the Winz family