Anne Marie and I walked along East Avenue in Holdrege, Nebraska, my hometown, scanning the crowd and looking for my high school classmates. I recognized two women, and they looked at me with a sense of familiarity. I began by addressing one by the wrong name. I was forgiven with a laugh. Forty years is a long time.

Soon, a few others arrived on the side of the street. Our 40th class reunion included watching the Swedish Days parade together last Saturday. I’m grateful we could be there. (In this photo, my dad prepares to ride in the Swedish Days parade representing his church. It was his first ride in a convertible. He wisely wore a hat, while we let the Nebraska wind style our hair.)

That day—the second in a very busy weekend—included six activities, ending at dinner with about 30 of the 112 people who made up my high school class.

I hadn’t been to a reunion since our 10th. I wish I’d done better at keeping up with my classmates, including some who couldn’t make it. We celebrated together over growing families and advancing careers. We also mourned as we heard of classmates who had died or were ill.

Visiting Holdrege usually brings a similar mix of emotions. As in many small communities, some businesses are struggling, but there are good memories and sparks of hope. On Sunday, we spoke at the church I attended while growing up where we met a few families new to the church.

I’m grateful we caught up with so many classmates, saw what’s happening in the church and community, and spent Father’s Day with my dad. We’re grateful for your prayers for our trip.

As you think of us over the next few week, please pray for two things:

• Anne Marie has already started four weeks of seminary classes. As Cru staff members, we’re asked to take a set of classes to ensure our ministry effectiveness. Pray that she’ll successfully meet the requirements and apply what she learns.
• July 13-22, I plan to travel to Slovakia to write a story for Cru Storylines. I’ll tell about three students who came to faith in Christ through summer camps that Cru runs, and who now have come back as camp leaders themselves this year.

As always, we’re grateful for your role in our lives through prayer, generosity and friendship.

Five years ago, a couple moved from South Korea to Mexico City to re-launch a Cru^® ministry on a college campus. They knew very little Spanish. The move was an act of faith, one that many Koreans have taken as they’ve gone to countries around the world with the gospel.

You can read the whole story, “Two Cultures, One Home,” in the latest issue of Cru^® Storylines at cru.org/storylines/. The campus ministry has grown, and now 15 student leaders and more than 40 students build disciples and proclaim Christ across the campus. My coworkers, Phil and Tom, wrote and photographed the story.

I’m grateful we can tell that story and others to encourage people as they see how God is at work around the world. If you go to that issue, you’ll also find a video about rapid church planting in Cambodia, encounter college students helping people in Houston still recovering from last year’s hurricane, and meet five students and staff members who are part of Cru’s Destino outreach to Hispanic students across the United States.

Thanks for praying for us after reading our last letter. Our 11-day, five-state trip to visit friends and ministry partners went well. We visited people in South and North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Along the way we connected with several families, including a woman who discipled Anne Marie when they were both college students, two friends we first met when we lived in California and a couple who are missionaries with a branch of Wycliffe. One highlight was spending two days with Bethany in Nashville—in the photo above, we’re taking a hike near her home.

As you think of us in the next few weeks, would you pray about these two requests?

• Pray that we’ll effectively give and receive feedback in our teams at Cru’s headquarters. Each May, we meet with those we supervise and also with our supervisors to review progress on goals we each set a year ago. Please pray that each meeting will be encouraging and helpful.
• Pray that we’ll plan and prepare well for a short trip to Nebraska to visit friends and ministry partners in mid-June. Pray we’ll connect well with several families, even though we’ll only be there a few days.

Thanks for your prayers and generosity.

Anne Marie and Steven, one of the 15 writers in our class last week, were almost late for lunch on the second day of our training. He stopped her to ask if we might be willing to train the 30 or so writers who work on the magazine and website he edits. What a strong endorsement

Our 15 students came in with solid credentials. Eleven work for Evangelical Press Association member publications. The other four are freelance writers, and three have won EPA writing awards. Still, they felt we could help them improve their skills.

As usual, we started by telling the class (above) that they won’t start writing until the fourth of five steps. They learned to gather information, sort the information they gather and then organize it before they write. After writing, they rewrite the story before publishing it. Our two-day training took place before the EPA conference formally started. (Below, Anne Marie stands by the sign that helped class members find our meeting room.)

The rest of the week, as local communications professionals, we helped host the conference. On Thursday morning, Steve Douglass, Cru’s president, and Dela Adadevoh, Cru’s vice president for area leaders around the world, joined Rev. Gabriel Salguero, a board member of the National Association of Evangelicals, to discuss the role of mass communications in world evangelization in the next decade.

Then early Thursday afternoon, Judy Douglass, Anne Marie’s director, spoke at EPA’s luncheon. As the founding editor of Cru’s Worldwide Challenge magazine and a former EPA board member, she fit in well with the group. We helped our Cru staff friends get situated for both events.

As you think of us in the next few weeks, would you pray for two things:

• Please pray for us to apply lessons we learned during EPA to our work.
• Pray for our trip to visit friends and ministry partners in the Southeastern U.S., as we plan a trip in late April and early May. Pray we’ll connect well with several families.

Thank you for playing an important role in our lives.

Yesterday, I taught week seven of an eight-week Writing for Life class to Cru ministry writers. They’re improving their writing quality and speed.

Heidi, from Cru’s legal team, joined the class. She’s battled and beat cancer three times, and now wants to write her story.

Tori, once a student when I taught high school writing, now collects stories of how the JESUS film is changing lives worldwide. She, too, is in the class.

It feels like harvest time.

Mark and I are in the midst of a three-month training season, one of my favorite times of the year. I’ve written curriculum and tested it. I’ve planned events, written schedules and created notebooks. Now it’s time to teach and to trust God.

Today, I’m emailing final details to eight presenters who will teach during “Called to Write,” a one-day writers conference at Cru on March 8 for bloggers, authors and ministry writers. So far, 57 people have signed up. Both Mark and I will teach breakout sessions.

I’ve been planning for a two-day training event during the Evangelical Press Association annual convention in April. Writers from Christian publications across the country are signing up. We’ll cap the class at 15 so everyone can receive feedback. We’ll both teach on those two days.

Below, you’ll find a prayer letter from our friend Karen Rogers (with me in 2014 in the photo above), who we got to know at training events at Athletes in Action. She wrote about how God was at work at a gymnastics meet at Michigan State University in the aftermath of the recent scandal.

As we prepare for our March 8 training at Cru and the April 3 and 4 EPA training, would you pray for two things:

• That God will put the right people in the room.
• That He will allow them to get everything they need.

These prayer requests cover all the details involved as we prepare for each event, and this prayer will help us focus on the people who will attend.

Please tell us how we can pray for you as well. Thank you for your partnership in the work God has called us to do. We can’t do what we do without you.

_________________________

Here’s Karen’s latest prayer letter:

In the Midst of Suffering

Karen and I tackled Athletes in Action’s ropes course in 2014 (above), as we had in 2013. Walking 25 and 40 feet above the ground, then writing about it, forced writers to find words to use all five senses to describe the experience.

Two mothers stood with tears in their eyes as they watched the large huddle of gymnasts on the floor of Jenison Field House at Michigan State University surrounding their daughters with love and prayer.

Three days after the sentencing of Larry Nassar, former USA Gymnastics and MSU doctor, a quad gymnastics meet was held in East Lansing. Right before the event, over half of MSU’s gymnasts met together where they were led in God’s Word and prayer by Emma Garner, an AIA intern I coached last summer.

Student athletes from almost every sport at MSU attended the competition to support the team, who have been harassed on social media. 

Immediately after the awards ceremony in which MSU placed first, fans began to leave, but the gymnasts stayed on the floor as Libby, a student leader in AIA and a gymnast at Rutgers, led all four teams in prayer.

“We wanted to pray that God continues to heal them and help them move forward, MSU specifically, but also anyone, athlete or gymnast that has been affected by this whole thing,” Libby said.

Hailee, an MSU senior, said, “This prayer symbolized how powerful God’s love is and made our team feel like we matter.”

Hannah Wilson, AIA staff at MSU, reflected, “The greatest victory that night was a girl stepping out in faith and pointing others to Christ in the midst of suffering and pain. Watching an athlete use her sport’s platform to openly glorify the Lord was one of the most incredible things I’ve witnessed during my time with AIA.”

Three days after the meet, a record number of students and coaches came to an AIA meeting, where staff member Julie Gillespie shared about her own experience of sexual assault. She talked about God’s redemption and healing, explaining that He does not abandon us in our suffering, but He is with us.

Afterward, many expressed a desire to know God more. I have the privilege of coaching interns like Emma each year. Pray God will mobilize other laborers for the harvest field. Pray He will bring healing and change to the sports culture in the U.S.
– Karen

Over the last five months I’ve been thinking about leadership in new ways. Last September, I began leading Cru^®’s team of writers and editors.

This job is different from leading the team that produced Worldwide Challenge^® magazine. The magazine team shared a goal: to produce and distribute an issue every two months. People held nine different roles—most filled by just one person—but we all understood our goal.

Leading the writers and editors team flips that model. Most team members share one role, writer. But the team is responsible for a wide variety of goals. A priority is to write and edit stories for Cru^® Storylines, the digital publication that replaced the magazine. We also prepare stories for Cru.org, our website, which focuses on a different audience. We’re launching a plan to help the different branches of Cru collect stories that they can use. Our team also produces Cru’s annual report.

An important part of my role is training the next generation of editors. In the office, I work with the new leaders of Cru^® Storylines. Beyond Cru, I’ve been asked to train editors from around the world through the organization Magazine Training International this summer.

That fits into part of what we are trying to do within Cru. We’re working to make our outreaches, publications and the organization as a whole more welcoming to a wider range of people around the world. We want to work better with everyone, no matter where we grew up, our ages, ethnicities or anything else that makes us different from one another.

To help us prepare for that, three of us—Rachel (above, center) editor in chief of Cru^® Storylines, Melody, it’s managing editor (above, right), and I—attended The Lenses Institute late last year. This Cru training invites us to put on the “lenses” others see through in order to understand their perspectives.

Would you pray for two things for us this month?

• Please continue to pray for the Writing for Life training Anne Marie is hosting at Cru’s headquarters. She’s teaching two classes each Thursday afternoon.
• Pray for my adjustment to this new leadership role as I continue to adjust. Pray that I’d serve the writers and editors well in preparing them for the mix of work each one is responsible for.

Thank you for your generosity and prayers for us.

Happy New Year! How did your 2017 end? Did you enjoy Christmas?

We celebrated Christmas with the family as both Michael and Bethany made it back to Orlando. We had fun catching up, playing games and finishing a 1,500-piece jigsaw puzzle. Anne Marie’s parents joined the four of us for church on Christmas Eve (in the photo above), and to exchange gifts on Christmas Day. Photo by David Taylor.

Michael moved to Wisconsin almost two years ago to work for a medical software company. He enjoys life there. In his spare time, he plays ultimate Frisbee and runs with two clubs. Last November, he ran the Madison marathon—a great accomplishment.

Bethany felt at home in Nashville soon after she arrived there for college. Now, a year after completing school, she plans to stay. She thrives in her work with A Rocha, a Christian conservation organization, as she starts her second year there.

Anne Marie and I plan to start the new year working together to train writers in our office. The writers I supervise and several others Anne Marie knows are eager to start training in two weeks. Today, in our headquarters news-letter, we invited others to join the class. So far, 19 people have signed up. We may need a second class.

Would you pray for two things for us this month?

• Pray for our Writing for Life training at Cru’s head- quarters. Pray for the right people to be there, and for each one to complete an assignment each week. We’ll meet once a week this spring.
• Pray for my coordination with the new managing editor for Cru Storylines. I’ll train her individually over the next two months. (And if you haven’t done so yet, please subscribe at Cru.org/Storylines/Subscribe.)

We’re grateful for your prayers, generosity and friendship as we influence the world for Christ through communicating the gospel to others. 

As we celebrated Thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago, we looked back with gratitude on all God has done in our lives and ministries in 2017. We hope you feel the same about your year as it ends.

Travel and training filled much of our year. Two highlights came in May, as we traveled to Nashville to watch Bethany get her college diploma and then to Italy where we trained Cru staff members to write more effectively.

I helped our team launch Cru Storylines <cru.org/storylines/>, our new digital magazine, in August. You can see our latest issue and subscribe by going to that link. Then in September, while still serving as managing editor for the publication, I added a new responsibility.

Now, I also serve as team leader for our writers and editors. This new role includes making sure each team member is becoming an effective writer. I’m also developing an individual training and mentorship plan for each writer and editor. I also assign stories and meet with each team member every week.

Anne Marie’s last training event of 2017 helped the Jesus Film Project’s writers. We’re especially eager to help this branch of Cru. When we lived in Asia, much of our reporting covered the JESUS film/ as it was used to plant churches and introduce people to the gospel.

In Ghana, a paramount chief—a leader over other chiefs and over about half a million people—appeased the spirits when his people suffered or faced conflicts. Suddenly, his exhausting schedule lightened. Fewer people were coming to him with problems. He investigated and learned they were watching the JESUS film and giving their lives to Christ.

The chief watched the film and called upon the Cru Jesus film team. He said, “Jesus is now my Master and my King. I want all 500,000 people in my district to see this film before I depart”—meaning before he dies.  Now, he introduces the film to other paramount chiefs.

Every day, we count it a privilege to be able to serve with Cru and be a small part of what God is doing around the world so the gospel can reach people on every continent.

These highlights come with some challenges. This year, I faced a medical problem that needed urgent treatment.

Just before we left for Italy, I began having trouble with my left eye. Small rips had formed on the retina. My doctor said that I could lose sight in that eye if it was not treated immediately. I underwent two sessions of laser surgery to repair the rips.

He saw similar weaknesses in my right eye, and while not as urgent, it too required laser surgery last month. I still have at least one more treatment for the left eye. Then, once my eyes recover from the surgery, I’ll need new glasses.

We’re grateful for your concern for us and your interest in our ministry. Your gifts will help us continue to play a role in sharing stories of how God is at work around the world.

Scott, an editor and writer for the Jesus Film Project, said, “I found myself asking yes/no questions,” after completing an exercise that involved him interviewing a partner to get a story.

On Thursday, Scott and 15 other Jesus Film writers joined me to learn how to ask interview questions that lead to life-changing stories. The group included country specialists who travel around the world to interview local staff members face-to-face about showing the film and planting churches.

The Jesus Film, a documentary about the life of Christ and the most translated film in history, is now available in more than 1500 languages and has been shown in 230 countries around the world. Our staff members and other missions agencies use the film to share the gospel and plant churches.

The stories canbe amazing. But someone has to collect them. What happens when country specialists travel half-way around the world and ask staff members if they have any stories to tell, and the staff members say no?

If a specialist asks better questions, like: “What happened?” Or “What else?” And “Can you tell me about someone who was there,” suddenly, the local staff members remember stories they had previously overlooked.

I also taught a simple story-telling model they can follow, and then we brainstormed open-ended questions they can ask that will lead to concrete information they can use.

Of course, we had to practice. Each person found a partner. Then, I passed out transcripts from two stories that were published in Worldwide Challenge. Each partner role-played one of the people while the other one asked questions.

That’s when Scott had to rephrase his questions so he could get more concrete information. It’s one thing to talk about asking open-ended questions. It’s another to actually do it.

It has been my pleasure to train teams of writers throughout Cru and in other like-minded organizations to write better stories. Thank you for praying for us as we do the work God has called us to.

Last month you prayed for us as we spoke three times and connected with our friends in Pennsylvania. The trip was encouraging. For example, on a Saturday morning we taught a seminar called Writing Your Story for friends from one church. People who attended told us it helped them see their own stories in a fresh way. Now, they have a plan if they decide to continue writing their stories for their children and grandchildren.

Please pray for us this month:

• Pray for the Jesus Film country specialists to ask better questions that lead to stronger stories as they travel and interview people around the world.
• Pray for me, too. I work two jobs. When I’m not training writers, I manage a website and a newsletter that goes to our staff women. Pray that we will serve our audience well and help them grow in their faith.

Let us know how we can pray for you, too. Thank you for praying for us and for funding our work. We’re so grateful for your help as do the work God has called us to do.

We ended September with thankful hearts.

As you know, September started with a visit from Hurricane Irma. We missed having electricity for four days, but our house wasn’t damaged.

Yard work filled a day and half as we pulled three pickup loads worth of debris to the curb (left). The debris from Hurricane Charley in 2004, by comparison, was about enough to fill a dump truck.

During that week, I traveled to Virginia to visit an organization that’s helping us produce Cru Storylines. We value their expertise in digital communications, and the trip was productive.

Then last week, Bethany arrived, making the trip the hurricane stopped in September. One more reason for us to be thankful.

Now, we’re preparing for an October 12-24 trip to Pennsylvania to visit two churches and as many friends and ministry partners as possible. We’re preparing to teach a class at one church, and to visit another for a missions conference, where we will have two speaking opportunities.

As you think of us, would you pray for these two things:

• Pray for our preparations for three speaking opportunities at the two churches. Ask God to help us play a role to build up the body of Christ every time we speak.
• Pray that we’ll be able to meet with as many families and individuals in Pennsylvania as possible, and that each visit will be mutually encouraging.

We are grateful for your prayers as we travel and for your partnership as we both seek to influence the world for Christ through communicating the gospel.

August ended with fun, and September started with disappointment and concern.

We spent the last weekend of August in Wisconsin, visiting Michael to celebrate his 25th birthday. We went to a zoo, a farmers’ market, the state capitol and a state park. (In the photo above, we stand on a bluff 500 feet above Devil’s Lake.)

We enjoyed seeing Michael in his place. He likes life there, and his job is going well. He works for a medical software company alongside technology workers in three hospitals.

Next, Michael visited Bethany in Nashville during Labor Day weekend. After that, we looked forward to Bethany visiting us in early September. However, her trip was interrupted.

Last week as she planned to drive to Florida, Hurricane Irma came up from the Caribbean Sea. We watched it on radar and prayed for the storm to dissipate or move over the uninhabited Atlantic Ocean. We kept an eye on the projected path, which changed daily.

Finally, Bethany and we agreed she should wait. We were sad not to see her, but as up to 1/3 of Floridians evacuated their homes, many leaving the state, it made no sense for her to come.

The hurricane passed between Orlando and Florida’s west coast, but near enough that we felt the effects. We had about 10 inches of rain over two days and faced winds of up to 85 miles per hour. We put plywood over our windows just in case. We lost electricity early Monday morning and now, as of September 13, are still waiting for it to return. We spent two days cleaning up a lot of yard debris and removing an avocado tree that was destroyed in our back yard.

As you think of us, would you pray for these three things:

• Pray for those still recovering from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and thank God with us for the people aiding recovery efforts in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean.
• Pray we’ll find a time when Bethany can travel to Orlando in the near future.
• I’ve taken on a new role at work. Along with being managing editor for the Cru^® Storylines newsletter, I now lead our writers and editors team. Pray that the tra
• nsition will be smooth.

Thanks for your prayers for us as we traveled, and as we focus on what God has called us to do in order to influence the world through communicating the gospel.