When I was in fifth or sixth grade, three friends and I agreed to give up candy for Lent, the season before Easter. During that time, our family visited my grandmother in the nearby town of Oxford.

In Oxford, there was a store that sold a wide variety of Jolly Ranchers hard candy. In Holdrege, I could get some flavors of Jolly Ranchers. Sour green apple, cinnamon and grape were easy to find. But in Oxford, they sold watermelon, lemon and other exotic flavors.

So, having forgotten the agreement in my excitement, I ate a few and took several home. When I realized what I’d done, I felt guilty. I put what was left in on a shelf until Easter passed.

But the good news is that while Lent is often seen as a time of sacrifice, it is really about God’s forgiveness. Lent is a time to prepare our hearts for Good Friday and Easter. Those holidays remind us of God’s love — that He offered His Son’s life for our sins and that we can enjoy a new resurrection life.

How do you celebrate Lent? Or, for that matter, do you celebrate Lent? Many times, I let this important season slide by. But this year, I’ve thought a lot about it.

Our team produced a series of devotionals for the season that are available through our website. Anne Marie and I each wrote one. You can sign up to get them via email from the Lent 2021 page on Cru.org.

The one I wrote includes an anecdote from 2013 about the friendship a group from my church here in Orlando enjoyed while sorting coins (shown here). The coins came from fountains at a local theme park. The park donated them to a home for children with serious disabilities. But the wet, dirty and mixed coins weren’t bankable. The group needed to clean and sort them.

As they worked, they were serving the home’s children in the spirit of generosity that Jesus modeled. God’s Spirit empowered them to serve, and to enjoy the fellowship.

This month, as you think of us, would you pray that those devotionals will help people grow in their faith? As always, we’re grateful for your friendship, prayers and generosity.

Oh, and you might wonder: After enjoying those Jolly Ranchers, did I admit my failing to my three friends? No, I confess now, I didn’t. (Dan, Randy and Scott, if you read this, I hope you can forgive me five decades later.)

— Mark, for the Winz family

NOTE: This letter contains sensitive information. Please don’t forward or post it on a website.

Dear Friend,

Every Christmas, teachers in Russia host evangelistic parties for their peers and students. Despite the pandemic, they pressed forward in 2020.

Several Russian teachers gave their students Bibles. One teacher said, “Praise the Lord! On Christmas Eve, the children again heard the story of the birth of their Savior, made a nativity scene, and received a children’s Bible as a gift.” (In the photo above, you can see them with their Bibles.)

Irina has been praying for gospel opportunities since participating in a six-week ISP Bible study where she learned how to share the gospel with her colleagues.

“I prayed for one of my colleagues,” she explains. “God brought us closer [and in the process], I learned a lot about her. I gave her a Bible today. It turned out that she had dreamed of getting a Bible. She recognizes what a precious gift it is and said that she would definitely read it. [I] thank God for this wonderful project that is leading us on the right path.”

Ludmila received permission from her students’ parents to give away Bibles. Now, Ludmila and her students are studying the English text of the Bible together. (In the photo on the right, one of the students reads his Bible.) 

Please pray for those who now have Bibles to grow to know God, and for new believers to grow in their faith. Pray, too, for Christian teachers who will help guide these new believers.

Thank you for your prayers and financial support. Your gifts allow us to help teachers and students in Russia and around the world hear the gospel. We’re so grateful.

— Anne Marie

How are you? We pray that you and your family are healthy and safe, and that you are continuing to grow in your faith, even in the midst of our current pandemic.

Even though Mark and I and the teams we’re on have been unable to travel and collect stories during this time, we’re hearing stories from all over the world about how God is at work in people’s lives. Previously, International School Project staff members traveled the world training teachers how to deepen their faith and reach their peers with the gospel.

Now, our team members meet with teachers online via Zoom to plan both virtual and in-person outreaches. Later this month, six teams of Mongolian teachers plan to travel to cities in their country where there are existing teacher communities.

They will train Christian teachers to explain their faith to their peers and help them grow in faith. They’ll also hold professional training events for teachers in those cities. A seventh team will travel to a new city and seek to establish a teacher community there.

In Cambodia, teachers from cities across the country join a weekly prayer and planning video call. In several of the cities, teachers are planning professional training events as well as evangelism and discipleship training for teachers who are ready to reach out to their peers.

In Ecuador, our local staff members have opened up new ministries in three cities. Most of the work was done via video calls. They host a weekly call so teachers can pray with each other and encourage each other.

God continues to open doors for us to reach teachers around the world, who are some of the most influential members of their societies.

Pray for teachers in Mongolia, Cambodia and Ecuador to grow in their faith and introduce their co-workers to Christ. Pray for Mark and I and our teams as we help Cru staff members around the world tell the stories of how God is at work in their lives and help disciple people through digital methods.

Thank you for your generous gifts and prayers for our ministry. You allow us to continue doing the work God has called us to do.

— Anne Marie —

Over the last year, I’ve learned new vocabulary words. As our team works more closely with other Cru teams, we’ve found that each team uses different terms to talk about work. If we’re going to be effective, we need to learn each other’s languages. I’ve actually leaned back on some of the training I took before moving to the Philippines.

This week, I’ll be in online meetings every afternoon as part of a “narrative workshop,” one of those new terms. The workshop includes Cru communicators from across the US and from different branches of Cru, such as the Campus Ministry, Athletes in Action, FamilyLife and others.

We’ll look for themes that we can all incorporate into our work throughout 2021.

This year, our overall focus was division and reconciliation — both between people and God and between one another. You can see some of this play out on Cru.org, Cru’s main website, and our stories in Cru Storylines.

People feel separated from God in light of COVID-19. They are asking, Where is God and how is He at work? Cru.org addresses some of these questions directly, while our stories show how God’s people are responding with caring and innovation.

Our story, “Summer Missions Went Virtual,” shows how between February and May, Cru leaders changed all of their efforts to send students overseas for summer missions. Leaders and students “traveled” online to places like Australia (shown in the photo above), Russia and others, and connected with students via Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms. People in those places heard about God’s love and grew spiritually with help from people who were in the U.S.

As our team cannot travel right now, we had to search our files for photos to illustrate the story. Our writers did interviews by phone and online. So much has changed, but we still share how God is reconciling people to Himself.

As you think of us this week and in the near future, please pray for the narrative workshop and that our teams will continue to learn how to our work with no international travel through the end of this year. And please pray for wisdom for both of Anne Marie and me as we supervise the work of communicators telling the good news of what God is doing around the world.

We’re grateful for your partnership and prayers.

Let me tell you about two new friends, Samuel and Amal, from Lebanon. We met during an online Bible study sponsored by the International School Project. You likely heard about the explosion that rocked Beirut earlier this month. The explosion flattened the port and damaged buildings across the city up to six miles away, as shown in the before and after photos. 

When the explosion happened, Samuel and Amal, ISP staff members,  were 25 miles away in the mountains. Had they been at their apartment in Beirut, less than a mile from the port, they likely wouldn’t have survived. The blast blew doors and windows into their home, and broken glass covered their floors and furniture. “We badly need your prayers,” Samuel said. They verified that our staff members and key teachers survived the blast unharmed, but they, too, suffered damage to their homes. 

Earlier this year, Samuel and Amal led ministries to students and teachers at multiple schools. Every week, they hosted assemblies during school hours and club meetings during recess. On March 15, when the city shut down because of COVID-19, they continued, but with online meetings. They discussed topics like fear, worry, surrender, and God’s care for teachers and students during and after the virus. 

Nana, another staff member, started a Facebook page for teachers. She posted a video viewed by 9,300 people. She received messages from 27 people. Teachers are still asking questions, and they want to know more about starting a relationship with Christ. 

Samuel and Amal, and Nana, will rebuild their apartments, and help their neighbors. They also plan to help teachers repair their homes. Schools were closed before the blast. Now, before they can reopen, they have to be repaired. 

Will you take a minute and pray for our staff members and key teachers as they clean up? Ask God to help them repair the damage and to be able to help others around them. Pray that they will have opportunities to talk about their faith as they work.

Thank you for your prayers and generosity. Your gifts allow us to continue the work God has called us to do.

— Anne Marie, for the Winzes

Last week, I took an eerie walk in my office area. At 1 p.m., the lights were off. I heard no sound but the humming air conditioner. It was my first time there since the office was closed due to COVID-19 more than 120 days ago for any work that could be done from home.

The visit was representative of changes my team is going through this summer. I was allowed in to clean out a desk and office. Sarah was an intern with our team during the last school year. In May, she moved home to Michigan, but couldn’t enter the office to pack up. Now, she finally has her pens, decorations, mugs and other office items.

Then in June, I began supervising all eight writers and editors on our team. I’d shared leadership with Jason for a time until he moved to another writing and editing role in Cru. This month, I’m working with my director to reorganize the team to offer more opportunities to our writers.

In August, we’re expecting another writer to join us. I’ll be getting to know him by phone as we prepare for his arrival. We still don’t know when our office will reopen, so having someone join the team will be a different experience than it has been in the past.

Even as we go through these changes, my team and Anne Marie’s team both continue to disciple people long distance. The enclosed newsletter, which Anne Marie edited, shows how teachers connected to the International School Project continue building disciples, even while schools around the world remain closed.

My team looks for ways to continue to help readers of Cru Storylines build disciples. You can see our latest issue online at Cru.org/Storylines. Our July issue featured “Reflecting Jesus in these Hard Times” to help readers interact with others while social distancing. And I’m excited we got to publish “The Most Important Week of the Year” as it takes place in Nebraska. Reading it now feels odd, as it was gathered last August, before COVID-19 was on our radar.

For the next issue, we’re working on a story about how Christians can appropriately wrestle with doubt, one showing how Cru’s summer mission trips changed to online discipleship on short notice, and we’re telling about a gardener who gives away his produce to aid his neighbors as he shares the gospel.

As you think of us over the next few weeks, please pray for me as I supervise our team and add a team member while we all work from home. And would you  pray for Anne Marie’s team to continue serving teachers  around the world without being able to travel as they have in the past?

We’re grateful for your friendship and partnership in or lives and ministry.

— Mark, for the Winzes —

P.S. If you’d like to give a gift to our ministry now, you can do so here.. Thank you.

We hope your family is safe and healthy during these trying times. We continue to actively participate in evangelism and discipleship around the world through the work that ­­­our teams are doing.

Teachers finished their school years teaching online. For teachers in Albania, the learning curve was steep. The Cru ministry in Albania provided professional training videos on YouTube. Since early February, the videos have been viewed more than 70,000 times. One principal sent a congratulatory note, thanking the team for helping the teachers at her school. Other teachers look forward to connecting with International School Project teacher communities near them.

In Ecuador, teachers gather on Zoom for prayer meetings, Bible studies and ISP-sponsored training seminars. Recently, 87 teachers logged on to a bi-weekly zoom call. The topic was, How do you find joy during the lockdown? Mayra, the minister of education in the coastal city of Manta, invited administrators from 30 schools. 

In Zimbabwe, Mavis, an ISP staff member, said, “I had gone to fetch firewood at a friend’s farm. Then the friend invited me to stay overnight so that I could share the word with about 20 people in that community. I had doubts because of COVID-19, but I agreed. The following morning they came to work and we had time for a devotion. The greatest miracle I saw [that] day was 10 people placed their faith in Christ.”   

Thank the Lord with us that even in the midst of the pandemic, people are coming to Christ. Please pray with us for teachers around the world who have now wrapped up their school year and are wondering how to plan for the coming year.   

Also, please ask God to heal our land and bring harmony and peace. Pray that we in America will see our need for a Savior.

Thank you for your faithful support of this work. Your help allows us to continue giving the hope of Christ to people around the world.

P.S. You can click here to give to our ministy.

Recently, Arvin and Jason reconnected after four years. Arvin, a Cru staff member in the Philippines, was excited to learn that Jason had become a follower of Christ and had become a missionary with another organization.

In 2016, Arvin was a student actively involved with Cru on his campus in the Philippines. One afternoon, he met Jason and shared with him how to become a follower of Christ. However, they were not able to finish as Jason’s class was about to start. Arvin got Jason’s contact information and they set another time to meet, but they did not connect as planned.

Now, in 2020, Arvin learned that their encounter four years ago was part of God’s plan of pursuing Jason. In 1 Corinthians 3:6, Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.” Arvin planted, and as others influenced Jason, he had grown.

Arvin’s experience reminded me of Bill Bright’s definition of success in talking about Christ with others: Success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.

I saw the value of that definition in the Spring of 1980. I was nervous as I approached a stranger on a beach to talk about Jesus. So much was new. I was at a real beach for the first time, facing the Atlantic Ocean. And as part of a Cru outreach, I was expected to talk to strangers.

Still, I felt less pressure on that beach than I had in the past, even when having similar conversations with people I knew. The difference was that definition. I was under no pressure for a person to respond — that was up to God. I was only responsible to share the message.

During this pandemic, I hope you’ve had a chance to share with others the comfort and peace a relationship with Jesus offers. As we do, we don’t have to worry about the response.

As you think of sharing God’s love, I’d like to offer two ideas. First, GodTools is a Cru app that will help tell others about Christ. You can see how it works on YouTube at “GodTools: Helping you Share Your Faith.” Second, you might find helpful information for yourself or to share at “FamilyLife, Home Isn’t Canceled.”

Please continue to pray for people to seek Christ during this time. We’re grateful for your prayers and partnership in our ministry.

P.S. During this pandemic, some of our ministry partners have had to reduce their giving. If you’re in a position to give a gift, you can so so here: https://give.cru.org/0262910. Thanks for your interest in our ministry and your concern for us.

As we all figure out life amidst COVID-19, we’re praying for you.

Anne Marie and I both work at home for now, getting as much of our normal work done as possible. Along with my normal work, I’ve been helping write updates as part of Cru’s COVID-19 crisis team, keeping our staff members informed about how they can continue proclaiming the gospel and making disciples using digital tools. Anne Marie is figuring out how to lead the International School Project communications team without any in-person meetings.

Around the world, people are more interested in spiritual things amidst this pandemic. Bataa, Cru’s National Director in Mongolia, told ISP, “It is paradoxical to see how the lack of physical relationship is translated into people’s openness in the online environment. Surprising, more people are becoming more open and willing to discuss their important life issues online.”

Teachers who are part of ISP communities are taking the gospel to their students via online lessons. Here’s one story from a Russian teacher:

“Today I had a lesson remotely [online], and at the end of the lesson a boy offered to pray the Lord’s prayer from Scripture. Then we started a conversation where all the children joined in. In the end they asked me to pray for them. This is all glory to our Lord.”

My team continues to offer Cru staff members, volunteers and disciples digital tools. Two of those are God Tools and MissionHub. They both offer ways that anyone, including you, can grow in your faith and help others do likewise.

In the Philippines, where we lived 30 years ago, a version of the JESUS Film broadcast on television nationwide.  

On April 9, Magdalena, a version of the JESUS Film, had its Philippine TV Premiere in one of the top broadcasting stations of the country, GMA Network. The movie was dubbed in the local language, Tagalog, by Filipino Christian actors and actresses involved with Artists in Touch, a ministry of Philippine Campus Crusade for Christ.

GMA’s report for the Magdalena TV broadcast states that the airing reached 5,625,178 viewers all over the Philippines. It topped the viewership in the time slot for the whole country. This number does not include those who watched through the internet that day and those that watched via a Facebook Watch Party the following day.

Please continue to pray that the gospel will continue to go out and people will continue to grow in their faith during this pandemic.

We’re grateful for your prayers and partnership in our ministry.

During May, followers of Jesus around the world plan to work together for a common goal. Go2020 is a joint effort of dozens of Christian churches and organizations, including Cru, to invite people to pray for those around them, show love to those they pray for, and  find ways to tell them about Jesus’ love.

Our team is working with others at Cru and beyond to help motivate those we have contact with to take those three steps.

First, a few months ago we began planning how to encourage the readers of Cru Storylines to participate. While there was information available from other sources, we asked Cru’s video team to produce a video that we trust will encourage people to take part. The video features Daryl Smith, Cru’s co-director for North America and Oceania.

Next, I worked with a team made up of people from several Cru departments to create a page on our main website, Cru.org. I wrote the words for the site and found Cru resources to help people take these three steps. We included the video, a Cru.org editor worked on it, and a designer put the items together and made sure the links worked.

Within two weeks, we went from having a concept to having the page ready to post. You can see it all at Cru.org/Go2020. If you want to learn more, you can see the main Go2020 page for the U.S. at Go2020usa.com, and for the world Go2020.world/home.

Our team continues to work on such projects to help disciple people around the world online, in partnership with a growing number of Cru departments and other organizations. 

Over the next few weeks, would you pray for Anne Marie as she takes on leadership over some parts of the International School Project’s communications work while a coworker is away from work to give birth. Also, please pray for our daughter, Bethany, as she starts a new job and moves back to Nashville. We’ll miss her, but we’re excited for her new opportunity.

We’re grateful for your prayers and partnership in our ministry.